Trump offers to help 'make Chicago safe' in scathing letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker one day after calling city 'worse than Afghanistan'

President Donald Trump is offering to 'make Chicago safe,' according to a scathing letter he wrote to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker Friday after the city experienced its most violent day in 60 years.

Trump writes that he was reaching out to the two Democrats after reading about the violent day on May 31, when 18 people were murdered, in a report published in the Chicago Sun-Times.

'Your lack of leadership on this important issue continues to fail the people you have sworn to protect,' writes Trump. 

'I am concerned it is another example of your lack of commitment to vulnerable citizens who are victims of this violence and a lack of respect for the men and women of law enforcement. 

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President Donald Trump is offering to 'make Chicago safe,' according to a scathing letter he wrote to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker Friday after the city experienced its most violent day in 60 years

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Trump writes that he was reaching out to Lightfoot and Pritzker, both Democrats, after reading about the violent day on May 31, when 18 people were murdered, in a report published in the Chicago Sun-Times

Lightfoot tweeted a response Friday night, without specifically naming the president or mentioning the letter,

'It is despicable, disgusting and all too typical,' the mayor wrote. 

'Same old tired playbook. How about some leadership not steeped in the divide and conquer tactics?'

Lightfoot in a second tweet vowed to stand with Pritzker in providing for the 'safety and well being of our residents.' 

Lightfoot tweeted a response Friday night, without specifically naming the president or mentioning the letter

The mayor also pledged to stand with Pritzker in providing for the safety of residents

A spokesperson for Pritzker also had tweeted that Trump 'is a failure who has once again resorted to a press stunt in an attempt to distract from his long list of failures, especially his response to the deadly coronavirus and nationwide calls for racial justice.' 

The president on Thursday also expressed concerns over Chicago during a town hall with Fox News in Green Bay, Wisconsin. 

Trump was visiting Fincantieri Marinette Marine, a Marinette shipyard, to announce a new contract with the military that he says could create up to 6,000 jobs in the area.

During the event, Fox news host Sean Hannity pushed the president to speak about recent calls for law and order and the uptick in violence in Chicago, to which the president responded it was 'worse than Afghanistan.'

Recounting details from the Sun-Times story in his letter, Trump described 'the following horrors':  

'A hard-working father killed. A West Side high school student murdered. A college freshman who hoped to become a correctional officer, gunned down. 18 people killed Sunday May 31, the single most violent day in Chicago in six decades.'

He adds that on 'the weekend of May 29, 25 people were killed and another 85 wounded by gunfire.' He also notes that police resources already were 'stretched thin' responding to George Floyd protests and looting. 

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Recounting details from the deadly and violent night in Chicago in his letter, Trump described 'horrors' and and notes that police resources already were 'stretched thin' responding to George Floyd protests and looting (pictured)

Trump then offered a lengthy description of how the federal government has provided financial assistance to help Chicago fight crime. 

'These funds are in addition to those collected through your combined and insatiable appetite to tax the people of Illinois and Chicago,' he tells Lightfoot and Pritzker. 

The Republican president also touts his record on criminal justice and police reforms.

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Trump's letter to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker

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Trump's letter has a lengthy description of how the federal government has provided financial assistance to help Chicago fight crime. 'These funds are in addition to those collected through your combined and insatiable appetite to tax the people of Illinois and Chicago,' he adds

Trump then points out that he is unlike his predecessors from both parties. 

'I am willing to tackle unsolved challenges,' the president wrote. 'If you are willing to put partisanship aside, we can revitalize distressed neighborhoods in Chicago together.'

'But to succeed, you must establish law and order,' Trump adds. He them makes an offer to have members of his cabinet meet with Lightfoot and Pritzker 'to help devise a plan to make Chicago safe, since a successful formula has escaped both you and your predecessors.'

Trump adds that his administration welcomes working with the mayor and governor on bipartisan policy recommendations to improve policing and 'make our great cities safe for all.

But the president throws in one more jab, saying that 'unfortunately, you continue to put your own political interests ahead of the lives, safety, and fortunes of your own citizens.'

'The people of Chicago deserve better.'

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