Chicago faces a lot of criticism every day, whether it be about the city’s high crime rates or for draining money from the rest of Illinois.

Being one of the five most populous cities in the U.S., the city cannot simply be perfect.

President Donald Trump visited the city Monday, and opposite of what people expect to hear the president say about their city when he visits, Trump added to the criticisms thrown at the Windy City.

Specifically, Trump slammed the Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson during the annual gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

More specifically, Trump accused Johnson of protecting undocumented immigrants and criminals over city residents and promoting values that are a disgrace.

We at The Daily Eastern News think the president should not criticize Johnson so brazenly because Chicago is such a big city that trying to reduce the crime is not as simple as snapping your fingers.

The president should have more respect and discipline when speaking to an important group like the association of police chiefs.

On top of that, for someone who disputes as much criticism as Trump, trying to advance his own political agenda by bashing someone who is in charge of presiding over a major city’s police force is hypocritical and pointless.

During his campaign for the presidency in 2016, Trump made it a point to say he supported police and stood by them and what they were doing, adding that he had ideas to help clean up crime.

If that was a talking point for him then, why is he now throwing Johnson under the bus when police chiefs from around the world are watching?

No progress is made from throwing jabs at each other.

Rather, what the president should have done was give his ideas on how to clean up the crime in Chicago. If he wanted to “clean up” the city that much, he should have said what he intended to do to help that happen.

The crime in Chicago is so vast and ingrained that whatever effort that ultimately makes a difference will be massive with help from multiple places, and likely not just the Chicago police by itself.

But instead of making constructive dialogue to try and actually remedy the situation, president Trump did what we see as a counterproductive thing Monday.

The president’s first visit to Chicago was Monday during his presidency, the Tribune reported, and if he was trying to make his lone visit to the city count for something, we believe he did not achieve that goal.

The Editorial Staff can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].