President Trump posted a meme referencing a classic film and “deportations,” leading to strong condemnation from Illinois Democrats and other political figures.
President Donald Trump posted a social media meme over the weekend based on the film “Apocalypse Now,” drawing a sharp response from Democrats who accused him of threatening an American city. The post, which hinted at a federal immigration crackdown in Chicago, featured a doctored image of Trump dressed as Lt. Col. William “Bill” Kilgore, a character from the movie, against a backdrop of the Chicago skyline.
The president’s post included the line, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” a play on Kilgore’s famous movie quote. This came after the president signed an executive order to rename the Defense Department the “Department of War.”
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The meme and its message were immediately condemned by several Democrats. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker wrote, “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal.” He also called Trump a “wannabe dictator” and a “scared man.”
Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot, also criticized the post, writing, “Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didn’t earn the right to wear it. Stolen valor at its worst.” Duckworth later clarified in an interview that she had no indications military forces were being sent to Chicago, only that the Navy was providing office space to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Other Illinois Democrats joined the criticism. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson stated that the president’s “threats are beneath the honor of our nation,” adding that “he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution.” Representative Robin Kelly also expressed that threatening a U.S. city with military action is “unacceptable.”
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National Democratic figures also weighed in. Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote, “Donald Trump has declared war on American citizens in Chicago. House Republicans remain silent.” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, posted, “There’s nothing normal about the President declaring war on an American city.”
In an interview on Sunday, President Trump dismissed the criticism.
When questioned about whether he was “going to war with Chicago,” Trump told NBC News’ Yamiche Alcindor, “When you say that, darling, that’s fake news.” He added, “We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities. We’re gonna clean ’em up so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war. That’s common sense.”
Border Czar Tom Homan defended the president in a CNN interview, stating that Trump’s words were being taken out of context.
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“If I said we’re going to war, we’re going to war with the criminal cartels. We’re going to war with illegal aliens, public safety threats that rape children, that raped citizens, that committed armed robberies, that distribute narcotics that kill Americans,” Homan said.
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