The former President just couldn’t contain his fury any longer.
Obama’s carefully maintained image as the dignified elder statesman cracked under pressure this week.
And Barack Obama threw a temper tantrum after Trump made this daring move that sent the 44th President into a rage.
Obama calls military help for crime victims "inherently corrupting"
Obama lost his cool when discussing Trump’s decision to deploy 200 National Guard troops to Chicago following a violent Labor Day weekend that left 58 people shot and 8 killed.
During an appearance on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, the former President called Trump’s military assistance "inherently corrupting."¹
"When you have military that can direct force against their own people, that is inherently corrupting," Obama declared with obvious anger in his voice.²
Obama wasn’t done attacking Trump’s efforts to save lives in Chicago.
He continued by claiming Trump was deliberately attempting to "weaken democracy" by sending federal help to a city where dozens of people get shot every weekend.
"When you have what looks like a deliberate end run around not just a concept but a law that’s been around for a long time, Posse Comitatus, that says you don’t use our military on domestic soil unless there is an extraordinary emergency of some sort," Obama complained.³
Obama’s legal argument falls apart when you consider the reality on Chicago’s streets.
The Labor Day weekend that prompted Trump’s action saw 58 people shot and 8 killed across Chicago, making it the most violent Labor Day weekend since 2022.
If 58 people getting shot in a single weekend doesn’t constitute an "extraordinary emergency," what exactly would meet Obama’s standards?
Democrats sue to stop Trump from helping Chicago residents
Obama’s condemnation came as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson – both Democrats – filed lawsuits to prevent Trump from deploying National Guard troops to protect their own citizens.
These Democrat politicians would rather fight Trump in court than accept help to stop the bloodshed plaguing their communities.
Trump made his position crystal clear following the Chicago bloodshed.
"When I watch television last night, and I’m watching the news and I see that nine people were killed in Chicago and 54 were badly wounded with bullets, I say, ‘That’s not our country. We have to do something,’" Trump said after the violent Labor Day weekend.⁴
The President was referring to various reports about the weekend’s carnage, which saw 58 people shot and 8 killed according to Chicago Police Department data.
Trump’s deployment of 200 National Guard troops from Texas followed his declaration that he would "solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in D.C."
The contrast couldn’t be sharper.
Trump sees innocent people getting gunned down in American cities and takes action to protect them.
Obama and his fellow Democrats see Trump helping crime victims and call it an attack on democracy.
Obama shows his true priorities with Chicago comments
Look, here’s what’s really going on with Obama’s outrage over Chicago.
The former President spent eight years in the White House watching Chicago turn into a war zone and did absolutely nothing about it.
Hundreds of people died on Chicago’s streets while Obama occupied the Oval Office, and he never once considered using federal resources to help.
But the moment Trump actually tries to save lives in that city, Obama rushes to a podcast to condemn it as "inherently corrupting."
Obama even had the nerve to suggest that Fox News would have reacted differently if he had used the National Guard the same way Trump has.
The reality is that conservatives would have cheered any president – Democrat or Republican – who tried to stop the carnage in Chicago.
But Obama never tried because he fundamentally doesn’t believe in using federal power to protect law-abiding citizens from violent criminals.
For folks who live in communities ravaged by crime, Obama’s comments reveal everything you need to know about the Democrat Party’s priorities.
They’ll move heaven and earth to stop a Republican president from helping crime victims, but they won’t lift a finger to actually solve the problem when they’re in power.
Obama’s fury over Trump sending help to Chicago shows exactly why Democrats keep losing elections.
American voters can see that Trump cares more about protecting innocent people in Democrat-run cities than the Democrats who actually run those cities.
That’s not an attack on democracy – that’s what real leadership looks like.
¹ Barack Obama, "WTF with Marc Maron Podcast," WTF Productions, October 13, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Donald Trump, Presidential Statement on Chicago Violence, White House, September 2025.
