President Donald Trump clarified Sunday that any federal law enforcement efforts in Chicago are focused on crime reduction, dismissing allegations from Democrats about his earlier remarks suggesting a harsher crackdown, according to the Washington Examiner. When questioned outside the White House about going “to war” with Chicago, Trump called the reporter “second rate” and emphasized that the aim is to clean up the city, not to start a war.
“Be quiet, listen. You don’t listen. You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate,” Trump said, before stating, “We’re not going to war, we’re gonna clean up our cities. We’re gonna clean them up, so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war, that’s common sense.”
The comments come after Trump shared an AI-generated image titled “Chipocalypse Now” on his social media platform, Truth Social, portraying him in military attire with helicopters over the Chicago skyline and flames, accompanied by the phrase, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning.” The meme invoked the famous line from the Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now and carried the caption, “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
This post drew swift criticism from Democratic officials in Illinois, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Senator Tammy Duckworth, and Governor JB Pritzker—whom Trump has been frequently clashing with amid his plans for an aggressive crime crackdown in Chicago similar to what was done in Washington, D.C.
Federal intervention in Chicago could materialize soon, possibly this week, according to border enforcer Tom Homan who said on Sunday that people should “absolutely” expect federal actions not only in Chicago but also in “most sanctuary cities” across the country in the coming days.
