This past weekend, protesters marched through the streets of Chicago in response to President Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard. The decision came under scrutiny after a meme posted on Trump’s website sparked outrage. Styled after the movie Apocalypse Now, the meme featured the phrase: “Chi-coplypse Now... I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of War.”
The backlash was immediate. Activists, community leaders, and concerned citizens gathered across the city to voice their concerns about federal overreach and the militarization of urban neighborhoods. Critics say this approach would escalate violence rather than solve systemic issues.
Facing the backlash, Trump later told reporters, “We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities. We’re going to clean them up so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war, that’s common sense.”
Just last month, Trump made headlines for asserting federal control over Washington, D.C., raising further concerns about the federal government’s role in local matters.