President Donald Trump intensified his threats against Chicago this weekend by posting a parody “Apocalypse Now” image with a fiery ball of flames and helicopters flying over the city skyline. The post included the line: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty
He’s now walking back that incendiary comment, however, and clarifying that he doesn’t want to go to war with the people of the windy city.
The imagery mimicked Lt. Col. Kilgore from the dystopian 1979 Vietnam War film, complete with Trump photoshopped into the character’s hat. The caption — rebranded “Chipocalypse Now” — followed his months-long pattern of taunting Democratic-led cities while pledging to send in federal muscle.
According to the Associated Press, Trump’s meme came after he signed an executive order on Friday to rename the Defense Department as the “Department of War,” a move that requires congressional approval. The step comes after his unsuccessful push to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump’s social media post and executive action represent a doubling down on his promises to deploy both National Guard troops and immigration enforcement agents to Chicago, similar to actions he has already taken elsewhere.
Trump Walks Back Chicago “I Love The Smell Of Deportations” Post
The Washington Post reports that he spoke to reporters before he departed the White House for the U.S. Open, and when asked whether he was “threatening to go to war with Chicago,” he called it “fake news,” and chastised the reporter when she asked why he would use the Department of Defense.
“We’re not going to war, we’re going to clean up our cities,” he said. “We’re going to clean them up so they don’t kill five people every week.”
Pattern Of Federal Takeovers
AP reports that Trump previously sent troops to Los Angeles in June and has kept them in Washington, D.C., since last month. He has also floated the idea of sending federal forces to Baltimore, New Orleans, and Portland, Oregon — at one point saying authorities could “wipe ’em out,” apparently referencing protest footage.
While details about the Chicago plan remain sparse, Illinois leaders have already made their opposition clear. City and state officials say they are preparing lawsuits to stop the administration’s enforcement expansion.
Pritzker Fires Back
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat and possible 2028 presidential contender, blasted Trump’s post in a sharp statement. Over an image of the president’s parody, Pritzker wrote on X:
“The president is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal. Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”
Other notable leaders and political figures have chimed in to the conversation against Trump’s fear tactics.
“Most people are saying, ‘If you call him a dictator, if he stops crime, he can be whatever he wants’ — I am not a dictator, by the way,” Trump said. “Not that I don’t have — I would — the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States. If I think our country is in danger — and it is in danger in these cities — I can do it.”
As AP notes, the backlash in Illinois is already building, with leaders plotting lawsuits and residents bracing for what a federal sweep could look like on their streets. But instead of calming fears, Trump leaned on a Hollywood war flick to flex his power, turning Apocalypse Now into campaign material.
It’s a chilling sign of the times: while Chicago prepares for possible boots on the ground, the president is still play-acting online. The real question is whether “Chipocalypse Now” stays just a meme — or becomes a full-blown federal takeover.
