— President Donald Trump posted a dramatized image referencing the film Apocalypse Now and renewed promises to send National Guard troops and immigration agents to Chicago, prompting Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to denounce the move as authoritarian and announce legal opposition.
Key takeaways
- Trump posted a parody image labeled “Chipocalypse Now” and wrote “I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” targeting Chicago.
- The president said he would deploy National Guard forces and immigration agents to the city; operational details were not provided.
- Trump signed an executive order seeking to rename the Defense Department the “Department of War,” a change that would need congressional approval.
- Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the post a threat and labeled Trump a “wannabe dictator,” pledging legal resistance.
- Trump has already sent forces to Los Angeles in June and authorized guard deployments in Washington in recent weeks.
- He has also suggested similar actions for other Democratic-led cities, including Baltimore, New Orleans and Portland.
Verified facts
On Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, the president shared a social media post that combined his likeness with imagery evoking Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film Apocalypse Now. The image was captioned “Chipocalypse Now,” and Trump posted the line, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning.” The post explicitly referenced sending personnel to Chicago but did not include timelines, unit sizes, or precise missions.
Earlier in the week, Trump signed an executive order that renames the Department of Defense to the “Department of War.” That executive order is in effect at the executive-branch level but any formal change to the department’s statutory name requires approval by Congress.
The administration has already increased federal enforcement actions in several cities this year. In June, the president ordered deployments to Los Angeles, and federalized or federally supported National Guard presences have been reported in Washington in recent weeks. Officials in Chicago and at the state level immediately expressed strong opposition and indicated plans to challenge federal actions in court.
Context & impact
The president’s post and public statements come amid a broader campaign theme of using law-enforcement and immigration actions as tools to pressure or punish cities led by political opponents. Such high-profile rhetoric can escalate tensions between federal and local officials and affect planning for city public-safety operations.
Legal and constitutional questions are central. The National Guard normally answers to state governors unless federalized. Deploying federal immigration agents is within federal authority, but large-scale operations in a major city raise legal, logistical and civil-liberties considerations that often trigger litigation and oversight.
Political fallout is immediate: Gov. Pritzker framed the post as an attempt to intimidate Illinois residents and vowed to fight in court. National civil-rights groups and some city leaders also signaled they will oppose any widescale federal operation that they view as punitive or outside legal bounds.
Official statements
“He is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal.”
— Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois
Unconfirmed or unclear claims
- Specific dates, troop numbers and the legal basis for any Chicago deployment were not provided by the administration at the time of the post.
- Whether federal forces would operate under state authority, federal command, or a mixed arrangement has not been clarified.
- Reports that the president’s reference to “wipe ’em out” in relation to Portland described current events may conflate new threats with past footage; that point remains disputed.
Bottom line
The president’s theatrical social-media post has escalated a standoff between the federal government and Illinois officials, blending immigration enforcement rhetoric with promises of military-style deployments. The lack of operational detail, coupled with impending legal challenges from state and city leaders, makes it likely that any planned action will face courts and public scrutiny before moving forward.