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President Donald Trump pushed back Sunday against criticism from Democrats who accused him of threatening war on an American city, insisting his plans for Chicago are about safety, not conflict.
Asked by reporters whether he was “threatening to go to war with Chicago,” Trump replied, “we’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities. We’re going to clean them up, so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war. That’s common sense.”
The exchange came a day after Trump shared an AI-generated image on social media showing himself in law enforcement gear with Chicago in flames behind him. Helicopters filled the sky in the depiction, which also included the phrase, “Chipocalypse Now.” Trump added in the post that Chicago is “about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, blasted Trump’s remarks. “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. Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator,” Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker posted on X.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, said that Chicago should “absolutely” expect action this week to enforce immigration laws. He suggested those measures could involve deploying the National Guard.
The updates about Chicago come shortly after the president’s comments about cleaning up crime in Washington, D.C. Posting on Truth Social, Trump declared: “DC IS NOW A CRIME FREE ZONE, IN JUST 12 DAYS!!! President DJT.” He accompanied the announcement with an update on arrests and the seizure of firearms.
The federal operation follows Trump’s invocation of emergency powers in August, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control, deploying National Guard troops and augmenting them with agents from multiple federal agencies. The administration credits the move with reducing violent crime, though local officials had already reported declines earlier in the year.
In total, about 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed, armed as part of the operation. The strategy, backed by Republican governors, involves collaboration across federal and local law enforcement.