Trump threatens Chicago with deportations and Department of War

President Donald Trump posted a meme that appeared to threaten Chicago with troops and deportations, igniting pushback from Democratic leaders in Illinois.

President Donald Trump on Saturday posted what appeared to be an AI-created image of himself in front of the Chicago skyline with helicopters, flames and the phrase “Chipocalypse Now.” The president’s post appeared to threaten Chicago with troops and deportations, igniting pushback from Democratic leaders in Illinois.

“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning...’ Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” read the president’s post on Truth Social, appearing to reference the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now,” which depicts America’s war in Vietnam.

The post also appeared to reference an executive order that Trump signed on Friday rebranding the Defense Department as the Department of War and the defense secretary as the secretary of war.

It also comes as officials in Illinois warn that the president could soon order troops, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal law enforcement officers to Chicago in an attempt to execute mass deportations and crack down on crime.

Gov. JB Pritzker in Chicago on Sept. 3.Scott Olson / Getty Images“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, wrote in a post on X on Saturday, responding to Trump’s post. “This is not normal. Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”