Trump made the admission after a reporter asked whether he would contemplate sending the National Guard to Republican-run cities.

“Sure, but there aren’t that many of them,” he said. “If you look at the top 45 cities for crime, just about every one of those cities is run by Democrats.”

Sitting alongside South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the Oval Office, Trump argued Washington was “now much safer” than Seoul after he invoked the District of Columbia Home Rule Act two weeks ago to federalize the district’s law enforcement. Then last weekend, the Pentagon started permitting National Guard members patrolling Washington to carry weapons after some states volunteered their own troops for the mission.

“I’m embarrassed to say it in front of you because they don’t have anything like this,” Trump told Lee. “Washington, D.C., sir, has not had a murder in 11 days.”

Earlier Monday during an executive order signing ceremony, Trump criticized Govs. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and Wes Moore (D-MD) after reports the administration is preparing to dispatch the National Guard to their respective states, without their approval, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) suing over Trump’s previous federalization of the National Guard in June in response to anti-immigration raid protests in Los Angeles.

TRUMP LEVERAGES WHITE HOUSE POWER WITH RED-STATE REDISTRICTING AND MAIL BALLOT PUSH

“Chicago is a killing field right now, and they don’t acknowledge it,” Trump told reporters. “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator.’ I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person.”