President Donald Trump's comments Tuesday serve as his strongest rebuke yet since being sworn in to the presidency last Friday. | AP Photo Trump threatens to 'send in the Feds' to Chicago

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that he would dispatch federal authorities to Chicago if they don't address violence in the city, which he described as "horrible 'carnage.'"

"If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible "carnage" going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!" the president tweeted.


It was not clear whether he meant federal law-enforcement authorities or federal troops.

Trump's comments seemingly refer to a Chicago Tribune report from Monday that said 228 people had been shot in the city so far in 2017, a 5.5 percent increase from the same time period last year. The 42 homicides, as he noted, increased by 24 percent from the 34 reported to this point in 2016.

The statement echoes Trump's words during his inaugural address, when he called for an end to gang violence and "this American carnage."

“The crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential,” Trump said at the Capitol on Inauguration Day. “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”

Trump has repeatedly spoken out against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's handling of violence within the city, often alluding to potential federal intervention. But Trump's comments Tuesday serve as his strongest rebuke yet since being sworn in on Friday.

Earlier this month, Trump wrote of Emanuel and violence in Chicago: "If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help!"

Chicago murder rate is record setting - 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017





Chicago had 762 recorded homicides in 2016, a steep jump over 2015 (492) and the highest since the 1990s. The city’s record for homicides in a year was 970 in 1974.

The president's late-night tweet Tuesday also comes a day after Emanuel bashed Trump and his administration for their ongoing feud with the media over the size of the audience at his inaugural address.

“You didn’t get elected to debate the crowd size at your inaugural," Emanuel reportedly said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. "You got elected to make sure that people have a job, that the economy continues to grow, people have security as it relates to their kids’ education. It wasn’t about your crowd size. It was about their lives and their jobs.”

Trump's Tuesday tweet on Chicago was posted shortly after Fox News' Bill O'Reilly aired a segment on "The O'Reilly Factor" citing the same statistics.

The newly minted president also continued his war of words against CNN on Tuesday night by taunting the network for being bested by Fox News in terms of inaugural viewership.

"Congratulations to [Fox News] for being number one in inauguration ratings," Trump said in a partially congratulatory tweet. "They were many times higher than FAKE NEWS [CNN] - public is smart!"

Congratulations to @FoxNews for being number one in inauguration ratings. They were many times higher than FAKE NEWS @CNN - public is smart! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017





Trump slammed the outlet during his first news conference as president-elect on Jan. 11 over their report on a dossier of Russian intelligence on him.

"Don't be rude. No, I'm not going to give you a question. You are fake news," he said to CNN correspondent Jim Acosta.

The feud has continued in recent weeks, with Trump repeatedly lashing out at the network over social media.