Trump Says Military Will Turn U.S. Cities Into ‘Training Grounds’—But What Does That Really Mean?”

President Trump announces permanent military occupations of U.S. cities to senior leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Sept. 30, 2025.Andrew Harnik / AP

Washington, D.C. — 1 October 2025 - President Donald Trump proposed Tuesday that the U.S. military treat crime-plagued American cities as "training grounds" for troops, framing urban unrest and immigration enforcement as a domestic "war from within" that demands aggressive federal intervention. The remarks, delivered during a 72-minute address to top military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, have sparked alarm among Democrats and civil rights advocates, who warn of a dangerous militarization of civilian life.

Speaking to an audience of generals, admirals, and senior enlisted leaders—many of whom remained stoically silent throughout—Trump urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to repurpose "dangerous" Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, for real-world exercises. “I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military—National Guard, but our military, because we’re going into Chicago very soon,” Trump said, adding that such operations would address a "war too" beyond foreign threats.

The speech followed Hegseth's own address, where he outlined 10 directives to overhaul the Pentagon's culture, including scrapping diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, imposing gender-neutral fitness standards, and firing military lawyers seen as overly restrictive on operations. Hegseth, a Fox News veteran and Trump loyalist, declared an end to "politically correct" leadership and a return to a "warrior ethos," joking that adversaries would face a blunt "F, A, F, O" response—if troops needed to "translate" it for them.

Trump's appearance capped an unusual, abruptly convened gathering of hundreds of officers, some pulled from global hotspots, highlighting the administration's prioritization of domestic culture wars over international crises. The 72-minute monologue veered through boasts about renaming the Gulf of Mexico, mocking former President Joe Biden as "sleepy," and decrying "radical left lunatics." He defended domestic troop deployments by citing historical precedents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln using forces for "domestic order," though historians note those instances were tied to wartime or major unrest, not routine policing.

Central to the address was Trump's vision for the military's role at home. He referenced a recent executive order establishing a National Guard "quick reaction force" for quelling civil disturbances, calling it essential to "handle" the "enemy from within" before it spirals. “Last month, I signed an executive order to provide training for a quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances. This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room, because it’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control,” Trump stated.

The president singled out cities under Democratic control, vowing to "straighten them out one by one." He described Portland as a "war zone" and "war-ravaged" city "under siege" from "domestic terrorists," despite local leaders countering that crime rates have stabilized post-2020 protests. Chicago, he claimed, suffers from an "incompetent governor" in JB Pritzker, whom he accused of resisting necessary intervention. Trump also name-checked New York, New Orleans, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Memphis as targets for similar crackdowns, tying them to his mass deportation campaign.

The rhetoric aligns with actions already in motion. National Guard units deployed to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., earlier this year to bolster immigration raids and law enforcement, marking Trump's first major use of troops against U.S. citizens. This week, additional Guard troops are mobilizing for Portland and Memphis to "quell crime and unrest," prompting Oregon officials to sue the administration Sunday. The lawsuit accuses Trump, Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of overreach, arguing the deployments infringe on state sovereignty under a "wildly hyperbolic pretext."

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker fired back sharply, accusing Trump of using the military and ICE to "invade and disrupt" cities. “They need the military, desperately? No—they need competent governance, not tanks in the streets,” Pritzker said in a statement, vowing to block any Chicago incursion. Democratic leaders nationwide, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, likened the moves to authoritarian tactics, warning they could inflame tensions rather than resolve them.

Civil liberties groups echoed the concerns. The ACLU called the training proposal "a blueprint for martial law," citing risks to First Amendment rights in simulated urban warfare scenarios. Military experts, speaking anonymously, expressed unease over politicizing the armed forces, noting it breaks decades of precedent separating troops from partisan policing.

Trump's comments come amid a government shutdown now entering its second day, with funding battles exacerbating partisan divides. The administration has rebranded the Department of Defense as the "Department of War" via executive order—symbolically, pending congressional approval—signaling a hawkish pivot. Hegseth's reforms, including relaxed rules of engagement for "maximum lethality," aim to counter what he calls "decades of decay," but critics fear they erode accountability.

Supporters, including Trump allies on Truth Social, hailed the speech as a bold stand against "woke weakness." Yet the Quantico audience's muted response—boots snapping to attention but little applause—underscored potential rifts within the ranks. As deployments ramp up, questions loom: Will urban "training" escalate to live-fire exercises in populated areas? And in a nation already fractured, does framing cities as battlefields heal or harden divides?

For now, the "war from within" rhetoric has put blue cities on edge, with residents sharing stark contrasts to Trump's portrayals—vibrant streets, not war zones. As one Portland activist posted online, "Our city isn't a training dummy for DC's power plays." The coming weeks will test whether words become policy—or spark broader resistance.