WASHINGTON (AP) — On Saturday, President Donald Trump reiterated his intent to deploy National Guard troops and immigration officers to Chicago by sharing a parody image inspired by “Apocalypse Now.” The image depicts flaming scenes with helicopters flying over Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city.
Trump quoted, “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,'” on his social media, adding, “Chicago is about to see why it’s named the Department of WAR.”
Details were sparse, but the phrase “Chipocalypse Now” was a play on the title of the 1979 Vietnam War film by Francis Ford Coppola, where the line, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” is famously uttered.
In response to the post, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called Trump a “wannabe dictator.”
On Friday, Trump issued an executive order proposing to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, after his ongoing campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize. This renaming effort requires approval from Congress.
The image Trump posted shows him superimposed on the Chicago skyline, donning a hat like the one worn by the war-driven character Lt. Col. Kilgore, portrayed by Robert Duvall in the movie.
This posting is part of Trump’s ongoing threats to include Chicago among the Democratic cities he plans to subject to increased federal action. His administration is gearing up to intensify immigration operations in Chicago, similar to efforts in Los Angeles, and will also send in National Guard troops.
In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles in June, Trump has deployed them since last month in Washington, as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover of the nation’s capital.
He’s also suggested that Baltimore and New Orleans could get the same treatment, and on Friday even mentioned federal authorities possibly heading for Portland, Oregon, to “wipe ’em out,” meaning protesters. He could have been mistakenly describing video from demonstrations in that city years ago.
Details about Trump’s promised Chicago operation have been sparse, but there’s already widespread opposition. City and state leaders have said they plan to sue the Trump administration. Pritzker, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, is also fiercely opposed to it.
The president “is threatening to go to war with an American city,” Pritzker wrote on X over an image of Trump’s post. “This is not a joke. This is not normal.”
He added: “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”
Trump has suggested that he has nearly limitless powers when it comes to deploying the National Guard. At times he’s even touched on questions about his being a dictator.
“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 last month. He added, “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,” Trump said then. “If I think our country is in danger — and it is in danger in these cities — I can do it.”
