President Donald Trump threatened to unleash the newly named Department of War on Chicago which Illinois Gov. JB Pritzer denounced as « threatening to go to war
Sept. 6 President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to unleash the newly named Department of War on Chicago in a crackdown on illegal immigration and crime, which Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker denounced as « threatening to go to war with an American city. »
On Truth Social, Trump displayed an artificial intelligence-generated image that appears to parody the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now with « Chipocalypse Now. » Helicopters fly over the Chicago skyline in a fiery background like Vietnam War scenes.
« I loved the smell of deportations in the morning », was written as an adaptation of « I love the smell of napalm in the morning » from the film.
Trump is depicted in U.S. Army fatigues with sunglasses and wearing a Stetson U.S. Cavalry hat like the lieutenant colonel portrayed in the movie by actor Robert Duvall.
« Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR », he wrote, one day after an executive order changed the name from Department of Defense, though Congress needs to approve the change.
Pritzker, a two-term governor and possible presidential candidate in 2028, quickly posted on X that « The President of the United States 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. »
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat who was elected in 2023, also posted on X that « The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution. We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump. »
Trump has threatened to send the National Guard to Chicago to help fight crime. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also wants to send agents, including with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to handle immigration matters. Some of the Guard and agents will be housed at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago.
DHS asked the Pentagon to accommodate roughly 250 federal agents and 140 vehicles at the largest military base in Illinois and the Navy’s largest training station, according to an internal government memo obtained by CBS News this week.
