President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that the city's crime wave "will never stop" as long as Eddie Johnson is the police superintendent.
"It just won't happen!" he wrote before thanking Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham and "all of the GREAT Chicago Police Officers" he met while visiting the city earlier in the week.
"Tremendous crime fighting potential if allowed to do your thing!" he added.
Trump tore into Johnson and the city's violence in a speech to law enforcement at the city's McCormick Place Monday.
"People like Johnson put criminals and illegal aliens before the citizens of Chicago, and those are his values and frankly those values to me are a disgrace," Trump told the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.
"I want Eddie Johnson to change his values, and change them fast," he said. He then called Chicago's violence "embarrassing to us as a nation."
Johnson, who hosted the conference that Trump addressed, previously said he would not attend the speech because he thought the "values of the people of Chicago are more important" than what Trump would say.
"I can't in good conscience stand by while racial insults and hatred are cast from the Oval Office or Chicago is held hostage because of our views on new Americans," Johnson said.
Johnson later held a press conference to respond to Trump's speech, which he admittedly didn't watch.
"We have bigger challenges in this city than to be going back and forth about stuff like this," Johnson said.
Trump accused Johnson of "not doing his job" and called Chicago the "worst sanctuary city in America," saying the city "protects criminals at a level few could even imagine."
Johnson said the "national narrative that Chicago is a city on fire is just simply not true."
"Facts matter," he said, touting three years straight of "double digit reduction" in crime and noting that there are "17 neighborhoods in this city that are safer than Manhattan and LA."
"This president is known for doing a lot of talking about the city of Chicago, but if he's truly ready to roll up his sleeves to partner with us, so are we, as long as that partnership reflects who we are as Chicagoans," Johnson said.
He added that the "same police officers the president criticized for their inability to protect the city spent all day protecting him."
Johnson also addressed Trump's comments on the city's status as a sanctuary city, saying his administration "has hurt many communities in Chicago."
"But CPD is here, and will always be here to stand up for them," Johnson said. "We're sworn to protect and safeguard everyone in Chicago no matter where you come from, who you love or what God you worship."
Following his speech on Monday, Trump signed an executive order at the conference a White House spokesman said would "address the root causes of crime and better train, recruit and retain law enforcement officers."
Trump's recent visit to Chicago was his first to the city since taking office, though he's long disparaged the city's violence and its Democratic leaders.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has counted herself among Trump's critics, taking to Twitter on Monday to denounce his speech and voice support for Johnson.
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"It's no surprise that @realDonaldTrump brought his insulting, ignorant buffoonery to Chicago," Lightfoot tweeted. "Luckily, in this city, we know the truth and we will not let anyone — no matter how high the office — denigrate who we are as a people or our status as a welcoming city."
"Rather than belittle Chicago's communities with hateful and dishonest rhetoric, he needs to go back to D.C. and face his fate," she continued. "President Trump knows as much about policing as he does running a fair and transparent government. I stand by the Superintendent for living up to the values of this great city and its residents."
