Trump's post on social media.
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US President Donald Trump has intensified his promises to deploy National Guard troops and immigration agents to Chicago by sharing a parody image from “Apocalypse Now” depicting a fiery scene with helicopters flying over the nation’s second-largest city.

“’I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site.

“Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

Trump's post on social media.
Trump’s post on social media. (Supplied)

The president provided no additional information beyond the caption “Chipocalypse Now,” a play on the title of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 dystopian film set during the Vietnam War, which features the famous line: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

In response to the post, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called Trump a “wannabe dictator.”

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP)

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order aiming to rename the Defence Department as the Department of War, following months of efforts to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.

 Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called Trump a "wannabe dictator."
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called Trump a “wannabe dictator.” (AP)

The renaming requires congressional approval.

The image in Trump’s post portrays him in a setting of the Chicago skyline, wearing a hat resembling that of the movie’s war-loving and amoral Lt. Col. Kilgore, portrayed by Robert Duvall.

Trump’s weekend post comes after his frequent threats to include Chicago in the lineup of other Democratic-led cities he’s aimed for increased federal enforcement.

His administration is set to step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, as it did in Los Angeles, and deploy National Guard troops.

In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles in June, Trump has stationed them since last month in Washington, as part of his unprecedented law enforcement strategy in 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.

Trump's weekend post follows his repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he's targeted for expanded federal enforcement.
Trump’s weekend post follows his repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he’s targeted for expanded federal enforcement. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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.”

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