‘I just need a yes or a no’: Joe Scarborough doesn’t let Chicago mayor off the hook

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough continuously pressed Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday as he attempted to dodge a question about policing making communities safer.

While advocating for social programs to bring down crime, Johnson did not want to answer Scarborough’s question on whether he would support more federal funding for adding 5,000 additional officers on the streets of Chicago. The mayor’s discussion about crime came as President Donald Trump has floated the idea of a federal crackdown in Johnson’s city to combat violent crime.

“I’m curious, would you also like to get federal funding to help put 5,000 more cops on the street in Chicago, would that help drive down crime?” Scarborough asked.

When Johnson said policing itself is not the “full strategy,” Scarborough said, “No, I understand that. You’ve talked about the other things you want, and I said those are good and important programs, but I’m asking also, would 5,000 more police officers on the street in Chicago be helpful to go along with all of those social programs that a lot of cities are engaging in and having success with?”

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While Scarborough continued to press the mayor, Johnson said Chicago would be safer with more federal funding going toward “affordable housing” and other mental health services.

“I believe that the city of Chicago and cities across America would be safer if we actually had affordable housing,” Johnson said.

“Okay, but that’s not the question I asked,” Scarborough immediately interrupted. “My question is, and I just need a yes or a no. Do you believe the streets of Chicago would be safer, if you got all of those extraordinary programs put back into place, which do have a history of being successful, if that’s complimented by having 5,000 more cops on the streets of Chicago?”

The Chicago mayor accused Scarborough of narrowing the crime problem down to policing, and said that “putting out an arbitrary number” of officers would not solve the problem.

“What I’m saying is policing and affordable housing, is policing and mental and behavior healthcare services, is policing and youth employment. It’s a full package,” Johnson continued.

Chicago experienced a significant surge in homicides in the past decade and reached a 25-year high in 2021 with 797 victims, The Chicago Tribune reported.

There have been 262 homicides in Chicago as of Aug. 26, which is 117 fewer incidents in comparison to 2024, according to the Chicago Tribune. Total violent crime reportedly decreased by 22% in the first half of 2025 in comparison to the previous year.

Trump said on Friday that he will “probably” crackdown on crime in Chicago by deploying the National Guard once he is finished focusing on Washington, D.C. Since Aug. 7, a total of 1,007 arrests and 111 illegal firearm gun confiscations have taken place in the nation’s capital as of Monday since the administration’s federal takeover, U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro said.

Johnson and Democrat Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Trump would be violating the U.S. Constitution if he deploys the National Guard to Chicago. Johnson accused Trump on Aug. 11 of spreading misinformation about the crime statistics in Chicago and that the National Guard’s presence would only “undermine” public safety.

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