Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailPresident Donald Trump tried to downplay a bizarre social media post in which he seemingly threatened to declare “war” in Chicago by stating he just wants to “clean up” the city. Communities across the Windy City are bracing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids to begin, as the president has promised that Chicago is ICE’s next target to fulfill his mass deportation agenda.While addressing reporters Sunday before leaving the White House for the U.S. Open in New York, Trump appeared to try and backtrack on a bizarre social media post he made the previous day that read, “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The Saturday morning post was complete with an AI-generated image of Trump in a cowboy hat sitting in front of a burning Chicago, along with the phrase “Chipoaclypse Now,” seemingly in reference to the 1979 Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now. When questioned about the post, and whether he was “threatening” war with Chicago, Trump replied: “We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities.”open image in galleryPresident Donald Trump tried to downplay a bizarre social media post he made that seemed to threaten “war” in Chicago. (AFP via Getty Images)open image in galleryTrump shared the bizarre AI-generated image of himself dressed as a cowboy in front of a burning Chicago on Saturday. (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)Trump signed an executive order on Friday changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, a move he said was to indicate that America has “the strongest military.”Despite the president’s clarification on Sunday, White House border czar Tom Homan doubled down on Trump’s initial claims, telling CNN that a crackdown in Chicago would likely be underway this week. “Absolutely,” Homan told Jake Tapper on Sunday on CNN‘s “State of the Union. “You can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country. President Trump prioritized sanctuary cities because sanctuary cities knowingly release illegal alien public safety threats to the streets every day. That’s where the problem is.” Trump dispatched National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., in August as part of his crime crackdown. Following the takeover, Trump declared the city was a “crime free zone,” and vowed to take similar action in other cities, including Chicago. Homan said the National Guard would likely be deployed to Chicago, as well, calling the troops “a force multiplier.” “They’re on the table. I mean, they have been used by every administration since I have been working for the government starting in 1984,” Homan told Tapper. “Every administration has used the Guard and the military on the border. And they have been very beneficial.” open image in galleryProtesters against Trump’s immigration agenda have taken to the streets of Chicago in recent days. (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Democratic leaders in Chicago did not take well to Trump’s threatening post, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who called the president a “wannabe dictator.” “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,” Pritzker wrote on X.Homan, however, said Trump’s message was taken out of context, saying that Trump will go to war with Chicago’s criminal cartels — not the city itself. “President Trump and this administration, yes, we’re at war with the criminal cartels and those who want to murder and rape American citizens,” Homan said. “You’re damn right.”
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Trump tries to downplay Chicago ‘war’ threat as border czar says immigration raids coming this week
