Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, on Friday posted and later deleted a message on X questioning President Donald Trump’s remarks about possibly deploying the military to U.S. cities.
Espaillat’s deleted post read:
Foreign nations Trump has deployed the military to: 0
Cities in the United States Trump has deployed the military to: 1, possibly more to come.
How is this protecting us?
The comment was written as a quote-tweet in response to Trump’s statement on Washington, DC. Trump remarked, “We haven’t had to bring in the regular military, which we’re willing to do if we have to. And after we do this, we’ll go to another location, and we’ll make it safe also … Chicago is a mess. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next … African-American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying ‘please President Trump, come to Chicago.’”
Espaillat, who represents New York’s 13th Congressional District, has previously drawn attention for remarks on law enforcement and immigration policy. Last month, he defended sanctuary city policies after Louisville ended its designation, arguing that such cities provide protections for families and vulnerable residents rather than criminals. Earlier this year, Espaillat also cautioned Democrats against working too closely with Border Czar Tom Homan, saying there should be “guardrails” to prevent a city from becoming a “police state.”
In July, Espaillat also weighed in on New York City mayoral candidate Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-NY). He said he supports Mamdani’s affordability proposals while acknowledging disagreements over Mamdani’s reluctance to criticize the slogan “globalize the intifada.” Espaillat described himself as “fully pro-Israel,” expressed concern about rising antisemitism, and explained he would continue engaging Mamdani on the issue.
Espaillat has also spoken against efforts to end birthright citizenship, calling it “the backbone of America,” while expressing support for protections for DREAMers and farmworkers.
