President Donald Trump has threatened to unleash his newly rebranded “Department of War” on Chicago, escalating tensions over his push to deploy troops into Democratic-led US cities. The move appears to be a replication of an operation in Washington, D.C., where Trump deployed National Guard troops and increased the number of federal agents. This led to a public backlash and a protest on Saturday that drew thousands of people.
Trump’s Remarks and Government Reactions
On his Truth Social account, Trump posted, “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” Illinois’s Democratic Governor, J.B. Pritzker, was quick to voice his outrage. “The President of the US is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” Pritzker wrote on X, adding, “Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.” The post included an apparent AI-generated image of Trump and a quote referencing the 1979 Vietnam War film ‘Apocalypse Now’, which has drawn criticism for its violent imagery.
Protests Erupt in Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Since first mentioning Chicago in late August, Trump has steadily ramped up his threats. On Saturday, anti-Trump protesters in Chicago took to the streets carrying signs that read, “stop this fascist regime!” and “no Trump, no troops.” They also made rude gestures as they marched past Chicago’s Trump Tower. In Washington, where National Guard troops have been deployed since Trump declared a “crime emergency” in August, thousands marched through downtown demanding an end to the “occupation.” Demonstrators carried inverted US flags, a traditional symbol of a nation in peril.
Trump’s deployment of troops and federal agents, which began in Los Angeles in June and later expanded to Washington, has prompted legal challenges and protests. Critics have called the actions an authoritarian show of force. Local officials in Los Angeles have spoken out against the violent tactics employed by ICE agents, who have been seen wearing masks and using unmarked cars to seize people from the streets without warrants. In addition to Chicago, Trump has threatened to replicate these operations in Democratic-led cities like Baltimore and New Orleans. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, claiming it sends a “message of victory” to the world.
