President Donald Trump scolded a reporter asking if he’s “trying to go to war with Chicago” — after posting a meme showing the city as a burning war zone.
The meme, shared on Truth Social, showed a scene from Apocalypse Now with Trump inserted and the caption, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
Outside the White House on Sunday, NBC’s Yamiche Alcindor asked Trump about the post as he prepared to leave for the U.S. Open in New York.
“Are you trying to go to war with Chicago?” she asked.
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“That’s fake news,” Trump said. When she tried to follow up, he cut her off.
“Be quiet, listen! You don’t listen! You never listen,” Trump said. “That’s why you’re second-rate. We’re not going to war. We’re gonna clean up our cities. Clean them up, so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war, that’s common sense.”
.@POTUS BODIES @Yamiche for asking if we’re “going to war with Chicago”:
“You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate. We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities… so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war. That’s common sense.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SJluB8lbyX
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 7, 2025
Another reporter asked why he was singling out Chicago when other cities have higher crime rates.
“Excuse me, do you know how many people were killed in Chicago last weekend?” Trump said. “Eight. Do you know how many people were killed the week before? Seven. Do you know how many were wounded? Seventy-four. You think there’s worse than that? I don’t think so.”
Trump has been threatening to deploy the National Guard to Chicago for weeks, following similar actions in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. While the D.C. action is within his authority, the Los Angeles move was blocked by lawsuits and judges’ orders.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have both spoken out against any federal deployment. Pritzker said he has not requested help, and Johnson issued an order barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal forces.
The Chicago meme came after Trump signed an executive order last Friday renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War, echoing its pre-World War II name.
He has also teased sending troops to Baltimore and New Orleans, both cities with higher murder rates than Chicago. Legal experts question whether he has authority to send troops to cities where governors have not consented.
Featured image via X screengrab
