Donald Trump insisted he's a popular presidential candidate because "I tell the truth." View Full Caption DNAinfo/Ted Cox

CHICAGO — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Chicago gun violence proves that tough gun laws don't prevent shootings.

In an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Trump pointed to Chicago's gun violence as an example, calling it "a disaster."

Citing this week's shooting of Roanoke, Virgina TV reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, a "Morning Joe" anchor asked Trump if stricter gun laws would help reduce the gun violence that plagues America.

His response? Nope.

"If you look at a place like Chicago ... it’s got the single toughest gun laws in the United States and it’s a disaster they’re having in certain areas of Chicago," Trump said. "Chicago is sort of a tale of two of cities. But in certain areas of Chicago, there’s tremendous gun violence. More than just about any place."

Chicago actually is not the most violent city in the U.S. per capita, but the city has seen more than 12,000 shootings since 2010.

Trump also cited gun laws in New York and Baltimore.

“If you look we actually have strong laws on the books. And again, you look at places like Chicago. Look at New York City. In New York City, we have among the toughest gun laws in the country and we have gun violence. It’s a real problem. But we have the laws. So you have to make the laws work. The government is not making the laws work. But beyond that, you do have a huge mental health problem. There’s no question about it.”

Former congressman Joe Walsh regularly slammed the city's gun laws while in office, even encouraging locals to defy the city's gun ordinance at one point. That ordinance was ultimately overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Watch the interview here:

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: