Special Ed screwed up

Trump slams Supt. Johnson for skipping his speech to police chiefs

The president criticized Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson during his speech to the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention at McCormick Place.

By Lynn Sweet Updated Oct 28, 2019, 12:21pm CDT


President Donald Trump speaks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention at McCormick Place, Monday morning, Oct. 28, 2019. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times



President Donald Trump, in Chicago on Monday for the first time as president, slammed Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson for boycotting his speech to the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention at McCormick Place.

“There is one person who is not here today. Where is he? I want to talk to him. In fact, more than anyone else, this person should be here because maybe he could learn something and that’s the superintendent of the Chicago Police, Eddie Johnson,” Trump said to applause from the friendly crowd.

The president also was in town for a political fundraiser expected to bring in $4 million.

Trump has been relentless in his scorching blasts at the city over crime and he didn’t let up in his speech: Compared to Chicago, “Afghanistan is a safe place” Trump said as he hit Chicago for being a sanctuary city and welcoming immigrants, regardless of their legal status.

On Oct. 22 Johnson said he would skip the speech because “the values of the people of Chicago are more important to me than anything that could be said in the speech.”

Trump, noting that said, “I want Eddie Johnson to change his values and change them fast.”

Trump also repeated, with embellishment, an oft-told but never proven story, that he once met a Chicago police officer who told him how to solve crime in the city. “I’m sure we can find him,” Trump said. The White House has never been able to produce the name of the officer and Trump did not request that he come forward.

He also picked Attorney General William Barr to lead a commission to study challenges facing law enforcement officials.

The president even found a way to bring up the impeachment inquiry being conducted by Democrats in the House of Representatives. He did it with a swipe at actor Jussie Smollett, who has been accused of making a false claim about being attacked by Trump supporters in Chicago.

“It’s a scam. Just like impeachment of your president is a scam,” Trump said.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, in a tweet, criticized the president for “his insulting, ignorant buffoonery” and voiced support for Johnson.

“Luckily, in this city, we know the truth and we will not let anyone — no matter how high the office — denigrate who we are as a people or our status as a welcoming city.

“Rather than belittle Chicago’s communities with hateful and dishonest rhetoric, he needs to go back to D.C. and face his fate. President Trump knows as much about policing as he does running a fair and transparent government. I stand by the Superintendent for living up to the values of this great city and its residents.”President Donald Trump holds up an executive order establishing a commission tasked with studying the challenges law enforcement face. Attorney General William Barr, right, will lead the commission. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times