President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post saying Chicago was about to find out “why it’s called the Department of War” drew swift rebuke from Illinois leaders Saturday morning.
“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” he posted on Truth Social, a reference to the 1979 war movie “Apocalypse Now” where Robert Duvall’s character Lt. Colonel Kilgore says, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
“Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of War,” the post continued, which included an image of him dressed in an Army uniform and helicopters flying in the background with the words “Chipocalypse Now.”
Trump signed an executive order Friday authorizing the Department of War as a secondary title for the Department of Defense in a move that he said sends “a message of strength.”
The White House shared the post on its X account.
Gov. JB Pritzker responded to Trump’s post Saturday on X, saying it “is not normal.”
“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city,” Pritzker said in the post.
“This is not a joke. This is not normal.”
• Dorothy Hernandez, Selena Kuznikov and AP contributed
This report was published in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For more, visit chicago.suntimes.com.
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