‘Chipocalypse Now’: Trump threatens Chicago with national guard; posts image of city under attack

US President Donald Trump on Saturday renewed threats to deploy the national guard to Chicago, sharing an image on Truth Social that depicted the city under attack. “I love the smell of deportations in the morning… Chicago about to why out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” Trump wrote. The AI-generated image showed Trump wearing a black cavalry hat, aviator sunglasses, and dark clothing, standing in front of Lake Michigan with the Chicago skyline behind him. Smoke and fire spread across the background with five helicopters hovering overhead. The words “Chipocalypse Now” appeared in lettering styled after the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.

The post came a day after Trump signed an executive order renaming the Pentagon as the Department of War.Shortly after, Illinois Gov JB Pritzker strongly condemned the message in a post on X, writing, “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 and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have repeatedly pushed back against Trump’s efforts.

“We’re going to immediately go to court, if National Guard or other military troops are sent to, deployed to the city of Chicago, immediately go to court,” Pritzker said Thursday. Trump has said several times that he intends to deploy the National Guard to crack down on crime. However, a military official told reporters that the Guard has not received new orders for Chicago, according to News Nation. Guardsmen were last deployed to Washington, DC, in August. The threat comes as Chicago hosts Mexican Independence Day celebrations, with parades and cultural events across the city. Some feared the timing could coincide with a possible military deployment. Earlier this summer, the National Guard was deployed to Los Angeles during anti-immigration protests. Trump has also said New Orleans could be next on his list to address crime.