US President Donald Trump says federal force made the difference. Speaking at the end of a turbulent year, the US president claimed National Guard deployment helped curb crime in some of the country's largest cities before he moved to pull troops out.
The deployments began in June 2025, starting in Los Angeles, after protests linked to immigration enforcement and wider concerns over crime and unrest. Over the following months, the effort expanded to Washington, DC in August, then Portland and Memphis in September, with preparations also made for Chicago.
