Whether he's legally permitted to or not, Herr Trump is doubling down on his earlier threat to send National Guard troops to combat "crime" in Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco.

Trump's latest round of political theater in DC is something he was legally permitted to do, declaring home rule in the district for 30 days, and effectively taking law enforcement out of the hands of the DC police. But his legal path to doing anything similar outside of DC looks far blurrier, though we shouldn't for a second believe he won't push on regardless.

In comments on Friday from the Oval Office, President Trump declared again his intention to send troops into Chicago, followed by New York. And he specifically name-checked San Francisco, telling reporters, "Look at what the Democrats have done to San Francisco. They’ve destroyed it. We could clean that up too. We’ll clean that one up too."

Trump began his press conference saying, "I really am honored that the National Guard has done such an incredible job working with the police [in DC]."

He added, "And after we do this, we'll go to another location, and we'll make it safe, also."

First on his list: "Chicago's a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And we'll straighten that one out probably next, that'll be our next one after this." He also claimed, in his usual style without evidence, that the people of Chicago — he specifically spoke about Black women wearing MAGA hats? — are "screaming for us to come."

"They're wearing red hats ... African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, 'Please, President Trump, come to Chicago. Please.' I did great with the Black vote, as you know. And they want something to happen, so, I think Chicago will be our next, and then we'll help with New York," Trump said, per CBS News.

Before any of this happens, we are likely to get a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco about whether the administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act with its actions federalizing the National Guard in Los Angeles in June, against the will of the governor of California.

Last week, US District Judge Charles Breyer — the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer — heard arguments in the case, and has previously indicated his skepticism of the Trump administration's position. Should he rule similarly to how he ruled in an emergency order in June, Breyer could find that the actions of the National Guard were in direct violation of that federal act, which should, theoretically, stymie Trump's ability to federalize the National Guard for theatrical purposes elsewhere.

But the administration will also likely seek a delay via an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and we should assume this fall will be filled with chaos as Trump declares war on Demoratic-led cities in multiple states.

Oakland was another city mentioned by Trump in his remarks the day that the troops were deployed in DC, and in Oakland on Thursday night, Black community leaders gathered to strategize about what they will do if the National Guard shows up there. The East Bay chapter of Live Free, a national nonprofit, hosted the gathering, along with a group called Black Men United, as KTVU reports.

"We're out here boots on the ground, giving it our all, and we don't need the National Guard here," said Robert McDaniels, a local youth life coach.

Organizers are planning to do outreach at Oakland schools, instructing youth that if they encounter the National Guard in their city, they should not be confrontational, and they should not run.

Previously: Mayor Barbara Lee Reacts to Oakland Being Mentioned In Trump's Crime Speech

Photo by Michael Vadon