Democrats went ballistic after President Donald Trump posted a meme based on the classic movie “Apocalypse Now” hinting at a federal immigration crackdown in Chicago Saturday.
Trump posted the meme, which included a reference to the quote “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” from the Francis Ford Coppola-directed film, Saturday, which included a picture of Trump dressed as Lt. Col. William “Bill” Kilgore, who spoke the famous line. Democrats from Illinois were among those denouncing the meme, which had Trump posting, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning.”
“Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didn’t earn the right to wear it. Stolen valor at its worst,” Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a former Army helicopter pilot, posted. Duckworth would later admit to “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan she didn’t “have any indications” Trump was sending military forces into Chicago, only that the Navy provided United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office space.
“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,” Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois posted. “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”
Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger.
You didn’t earn the right to wear it.
Stolen valor at its worst. pic.twitter.com/tJ1KdA6lU6
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) September 6, 2025
Trump hinted at stepped-up federal enforcement efforts in Chicago in an Aug. 25 post on Truth Social, criticizing Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago. Johnson and Pritzker have opposed proposals for increased federal enforcement, with Johnson signing an order prohibiting Chicago agencies from cooperating with any immigration enforcement efforts on Aug. 30.
“The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” Johnson posted Saturday. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”
“Chicago is a city of neighbors-our diversity is our strength,” Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois posted. “We will stand together and protect our communities from those who try to divide or harm us. Threatening a US city with military action is unacceptable and I will not tolerate any federal actions that encroach on Chicago’s rights.”
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis claimed that Trump’s meme indicated the president was a “fascist.”
The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution.
We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/B7AH1ufByH
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) September 6, 2025
“My response to Trump as a proud resident of the city of Chicago: Go fuck yourself. Stay the hell out of our city, you fascist,” Nellis posted.
Trump clashed with NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor and ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang while en route to watch the U.S. Open men’s final on Sunday. Trump accused Alcindor of peddling “fake news” when she questioned if he was “going to war with Chicago.”
“When you say that, darling, that’s fake news,” Trump told Alcindor. “Listen. Be quiet. You don’t listen, you never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate. 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.”
Other national left-wing figures attacked Trump over the meme.
“We are at the cosplay president threatening to wage war on Americans stage of the second Trump @realDonaldTrump Admin!” retired Army officer Alexander Vindman claimed in a post on X.
We are at the cosplay president threatening to wage war on Americans stage of the second Trump @realDonaldTrump Admin! pic.twitter.com/rNBwJBXnIg
— Alexander S. Vindman
(@AVindman) September 6, 2025
(@AVindman) “There’s nothing normal about the President declaring war on an American city,” Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the party’s nominee for vice president in 2024, posted.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York also attacked the president over the meme.
“Donald Trump has declared war on American citizens in Chicago. House Republicans remain silent. These MAGA extremists are sick people who are completely unfit to govern,” Jeffries said in a post on X.
Border czar Tom Homan dismissed Democratic claims Trump was “declaring war” on Chicago during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I think his words are being taken out of context,” Homan told host Jake Tapper. “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. We’re at war with the criminal cartels.”
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