President Donald Trump pushed back at a reporter questioning whether he was “trying to go to war with Chicago” after sharing a meme depicting the city as an Apocalypse Now–style war zone. The meme showed Chicago burning, captioned: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor asked Trump about the post as he left the White House en route to the US Open. “Are you threatening to go to war with Chicago?” she asked.
Trump dismissed the question as “fake news,” adding, “Be quiet, listen! You don’t listen! You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate. We’re not going to war. We’re gonna clean up our cities. That’s not war, that’s common sense.”
When pressed about sending troops to Chicago while other cities report higher crime rates, Trump cited recent violence in the city: eight killed the previous weekend, seven the week before, and 74 wounded. He argued the numbers justified focused action in Chicago.
