Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson fired back at President Donald Trump after he posted an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image of himself in a parody of the movie Apocalypse Now in an apparent threat to the city.
Newsweek reached out to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Johnson’s offices by email on Saturday afternoon outside of normal business hours for comment.
Why It Matters
Tensions between the Trump administration and Illinois officials continue to mount as the president has made repeated threats to expand his immigration crackdown operations in Chicago.
Trump escalated the matter by revealing he would consider sending National Guard troops to the Windy City. Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington, D.C., in August and has continued to tout the drop in crime that followed. He has therefore suggested additionally deploying the National Guard to Democrat-run cities to deal with crime.
Illinois political leaders have rejected the idea, arguing that there are many cities with higher overall crime rates, and the number of murders has fallen in Chicago in recent years after a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, Johnson’s office released updated year-to-date crime statistics that showed homicides in Chicago are down 32.3 percent, and overall violent crime is down 21.6 percent.
What To Know
Johnson recently took steps to counter Trump’s potential federal surge, signing an executive order late last month that directed city agencies and law enforcement to resist cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The mayor cited “escalating threats from the federal government.”
Trump then on Saturday posted an AI image of himself crouching outside Chicago with a fire burning on the ground behind him and helicopters flying over the city. Trump is styled after Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore from Apocalypse Now, and he parodied the character’s famous line by writing, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning…”
“Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” Trump wrote, adding three helicopter emojis.
The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution. We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/B7AH1ufByH
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) September 6, 2025
Johnson posted a screenshot of Trump’s post and wrote on X: “The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution. We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”
Trump has continued to post various Chicago crime statistics over recent weeks, highlighting shootings and murders.
What People Are Saying
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsweek in an email statement: “Eight people were killed and over 50 people were wounded last weekend in Chicago but local Democrat leaders are more upset about a post from the President—that tells you everything you need to know about the Democrats‘ twisted priorities and why Chicago has had the most murderers of any US city for 13 consecutive years.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Saturday wrote on X: “[Chicago Police Department] CPD has taken 24,000 guns off the street since I took office, most of which originated from Republican-run states outside Illinois. The Trump administration’s budget cuts to federal gun violence prevention agencies like ATF will lead to fewer investigations and operations with local law enforcement, endangering our historic progress on community safety.”
President Donald Trump earlier this week wrote on Truth Social: “At least 54 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, 8 people were killed. The last two weekends were similar. Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far. Pritzker needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet. I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, and soon. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
He also wrote in other posts that “CHIACGO IS THE MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD” and that “CRIME IS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL IN CHICAGO. 6 DEAD, 24 BADLY WOUNDED, LAST WEEK ALONE!!!”
The post Chicago Mayor Promises to Defend City After Newest Donald Trump ‘Threats’ appeared first on Newsweek.
