Trump says he’s ‘not going to war’ with Chicago after Democratic criticism

(The Hill) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said he’s “not going to war” with Chicago despite his recent social media post that depicted the city in an apocalypse and hinted at impending war.

Asked whether he was “threatening to go to war with Chicago,” Trump told reporters, “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 5 people every weekend. That’s not war. That’s common sense,” Trump added.

Trump has suggested in recent weeks that Chicago would be his next target for a large-scale immigration enforcement operation.

He has escalated his threats in recent days, and, on Saturday, posted an artificially generated image of his likeness as a law enforcement officer. The AI-generated image’s background included a depiction of Chicago burning, with several helicopters and text that read, “Chipocalypse Now” — a nod to the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now” and to the city of Chicago.

“I love the smell of deportations in the morning… Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” Trump wrote, referring to his recent executive order renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) fired back in a social media post.

“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city,” Pritzker wrote. This is not a joke. This is not normal.”

“Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man,” he added. “Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”

Trump border czar Tom Homan said on Sunday that Chicago should “absolutely” expect to see immigration enforcement action in the city this coming week, saying that could include National Guard troops.