‘Chipocalypse Now’: Trump Threatens ‘War’ on Chicago in Immigration Crackdown

Donald Trump has ignited a political firestorm by suggesting he could deploy federal troops to Chicago as part of his aggressive immigration crackdown. The president’s threats came alongside a provocative AI-generated parody image posted on Truth Social, depicting himself as a military officer from Apocalypse Now with the words “Chipocalypse Now” emblazoned across the Chicago skyline in flames. In the altered poster, Trump quipped, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The reference came just one day after he signed an executive order renaming the Pentagon as the “Department of War.”

With the Department of War order and the post sparked mass protests on Saturday night, with thousands marching through downtown Chicago, including past Trump Tower, to voice opposition to potential immigration raids. Demonstrators carried signs warning against authoritarianism and accused Trump of targeting the city’s large immigrant population during the Mexican Independence Day celebrations, many of which were postponed or canceled amid fears of ICE stings.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker condemned the president’s rhetoric, writing on X: “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”

Donald Trump Posts on Truth Social – Unbecoming of a US President?

JB Pritzker accused the administration of manufacturing a crisis, noting that the state had made “no requests for federal intervention.” His comments followed earlier reports that the Pentagon had been drafting plans to send the Army to Illinois. However, Vice President JD Vance attempted to cool tensions last week, stating there were “no immediate plans” to deploy the National Guard in Chicago.

The controversy arises on the heels of the largest-ever ICE workplace raid, conducted at a Hyundai battery plant in Georgia. Authorities arrested 475 workers, most of them South Korean nationals, in what the Department of Homeland Security called an unprecedented enforcement action. Videos released by ICE showed detainees shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles being loaded onto buses — images that drew condemnation from South Korea’s foreign ministry, which called the release “regrettable” and harmful to bilateral trust.

The juxtaposition of sweeping workplace raids and the threat of military involvement in domestic immigration enforcement has raised alarms among civil rights groups, who argue that Trump’s escalating tactics blur the lines between law enforcement and militarization.

For now, Chicago remains on edge. While the White House insists no immediate deployment orders have been signed, Trump’s social media theatrics and the renaming of the Pentagon underscore his willingness to recast immigration enforcement as a battlefield — a move that critics warn could inflame tensions nationwide.

As the protests grow louder, the question looms: is Trump’s “Chipocalypse” simply political theater, or a prelude to unprecedented domestic military action? And now, anyway, the Pentagon will be the Department of War.