President Donald Trump sparked controversy after posting a meme depicting Chicago as a war zone, captioned: \u201cI love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it\u2019s called the Department of WAR.\u201d The post drew backlash and prompted questions about whether Trump was threatening military action against the city.<\/p>\n
During a press exchange, NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor asked if he was \u201ctrying to go to war with Chicago.\u201d Trump dismissed the question as \u201cfake news,\u201d calling Alcindor \u201csecond-rate\u201d and telling her to \u201cbe quiet\u201d and \u201clisten.\u201d He insisted the administration wasn\u2019t waging war, but rather trying to \u201cclean up\u201d violent cities. \u201cThat\u2019s not war, that\u2019s common sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pressed further about his plans to send troops to Chicago\u2014despite the fact that other cities have higher crime rates\u2014Trump pointed to recent weekend violence in the city, citing eight deaths and 74 injuries. He argued that the severity of the violence justified federal intervention, even if other cities like Baltimore and New Orleans have worse per-capita murder rates.<\/p>\n
Trump recently signed an executive order restoring the Pentagon\u2019s pre\u2013World War II name, the Department of War. He has also floated deploying the National Guard to various cities. However, legal concerns remain over whether he can send troops without the consent of state governors\u2014especially in Democrat-led states like Illinois and Maryland.<\/p>\n
Despite a court ruling against his use of the Guard in Los Angeles, Trump\u2019s federal deployment in Washington, D.C., has led to over 1,000 arrests. In response, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an order to continue working with federal law enforcement beyond the emergency declaration\u2019s expiration.<\/p>\n