Trump roils Chicago Democrats with 'Apocalypse Now' meme hinting at National Guard deployment

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President Donald Trump on Saturday gave possibly his strongest hint yet that he may deploy federal troops to Chicago by posting a parody meme of himself as a commander at war with Chicago. The post drew a swift rebuke from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other officials who said it amounted to a threat.

In the image, Trump, known to provoke his opponents with his savvy use of social media, is styled as Robert Duvall's character in "Apocalypse Now," a Vietnam War epic about a decorated U.S. officer who has gone rogue deep in the Cambodian jungle.

"I love the smell of deportations in the morning…" Trump wrote above the image, a play on the famous quote from the hit 1979 film.

"Chicago is about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR," he wrote, followed by three helicopter emoji. It came a day after he signed an executive order changing the Defense Department's name to the Department of War.

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The post appeared aimed at provoking Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who have both strongly opposed Trump's threats to activate the National Guard in the Windy City to clamp down on crime and help enhance immigration enforcement efforts. 

In the image, Trump is dressed in military fatigues resembling Duvall's character, Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore, a flamboyant and fearless air cavalry officer who leads a helicopter air assault on a Vietnamese village.

Helicopters fly over the Chicago skyline in a fiery background, evoking Vietnam War scenes.

The text "Chipocalypse Now" is scrawled on the bottom of the image, a riff on "Apocalypse Now," with "Chi" referring to Chicago.

Trump's goading appeared to work. Within an hour, Pritzker shot back, with Johnson also weighing in.

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"The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city," Pritzker wrote on X "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."

Johnson conveyed similar words of warning. 

"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," Johnson wrote. "We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump."

Another outspoken Trump critic, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also decried the post on Saturday during remarks before a parade in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.

"This tweet this morning was disgusting to suggest that the troops are coming into Chicago or that the Department of War is going to be engaged is an embarrassment," Durban said, according to Fox 32 Chicago. 

Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of deploying the National Guard in Chicago, replicating operations in Washington, D.C., which has also seen the federal government take control of the local police. 

National Guard units sent without state approval are generally restricted to defending federal property and personnel. When Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles in June over anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests, they were confined to federal buildings and escort duties for immigration agents. In Washington, D.C., which is under federal jurisdiction, Guard units have conducted armed patrols alongside local police.

Chicago recorded 573 homicides in 2024, marking the 13th straight year Chicago has led the nation in total murders, according to Chicago Police Department data compiled by Wirepoints.

According to the Council on Criminal Justice's year-end 2024 update, aggravated assaults declined by 4% compared to 2023 but remained 4% higher than in 2019. The council reported that gun assaults fell 15%, though they were still 5% above 2019 levels, and that carjackings dropped 32% year-over-year, yet were 25% higher than in 2019.