
Democrats went ballistic after President Donald Trump posted a meme based on the classic movie âApocalypse Nowâ hinting at a federal immigration crackdown in Chicago Saturday.
Trump posted the meme, which included a reference to the quote âI love the smell of napalm in the morningâ from the Francis Ford Coppola-directed film, Saturday, which included a picture of Trump dressed as Lt. Col. William âBillâ Kilgore, who spoke the famous line. Democrats from Illinois were among those denouncing the meme, which had Trump posting, âI love the smell of deportations in the morning.â
âTake off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didnât earn the right to wear it. Stolen valor at its worst,â Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a former Army helicopter pilot, posted. Duckworth would later admit to âFace the Nationâ host Margaret Brennan she didnât âhave any indicationsâ Trump was sending military forces into Chicago, only that the Navy provided United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office space.
âThe President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,â Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois posted. âDonald Trump isnât a strongman, heâs a scared man. Illinois wonât be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.â
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.
âThe Presidentâs threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,â Johnson posted Saturday. âWe must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.â
âChicago is a city of neighbors-our diversity is our strength,â Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois posted. âWe 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 Chicagoâs rights.â
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis claimed that Trumpâs meme indicated the president was a âfascist.â
âMy response to Trump as a proud resident of the city of Chicago: Go fuck yourself. Stay the hell out of our city, you fascist,â 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 menâs final on Sunday. Trump accused Alcindor of peddling âfake newsâ when she questioned if he was âgoing to war with Chicago.â
âWhen you say that, darling, thatâs fake news,â Trump told Alcindor. âListen. Be quiet. You donât listen, you never listen. Thatâs why youâre second-rate. Weâre not going to war. Weâre going to clean up our cities. Weâre gonna clean âem up so they donât kill five people every weekend. Thatâs not war. Thatâs common sense.â
Other national left-wing figures attacked Trump over the meme.
âWe are at the cosplay president threatening to wage war on Americans stage of the second Trump @realDonaldTrump Admin!â retired Army officer Alexander Vindman claimed in a post on X.
âThereâs nothing normal about the President declaring war on an American city,â Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the partyâs nominee for vice president in 2024, posted.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York also attacked the president over the meme.
âDonald 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,â Jeffries said in a post on X.
Border czar Tom Homan dismissed Democratic claims Trump was âdeclaring warâ on Chicago during a Sunday interview on CNNâs âState of the Union.â
âI think his words are being taken out of context,â Homan told host Jake Tapper. âIf I said weâre going to war, weâre going to war with the criminal cartels. Weâre 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. Weâre at war with the criminal cartels.â
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