CHICAGO – A little more than 24 hours after President Donald Trump posted an ominous meme aimed at the city of Chicago on his social media platform, he appears to be softening his tone.
The backstory:
On Saturday, Trump shared an image from the film Apocalypse Now to his Truth Social account with a caption reading: “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The post referenced his recent announcement that he had unilaterally changed the name of the Department of Defense.
What we know:
On Sunday, the president briefly addressed reporters outside the White House before boarding Marine One to travel to New York for the U.S. Open men’s singles final.
“We’re not going to war,” Trump said. “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.”
The president’s remarks came the same day Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth appeared on Face the Nation and discussed her recent visit to Great Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago.
Duckworth, a member of the U.S. Armed Services Committee, said there are no current plans to house National Guard troops in the barracks there. Other than providing additional office space for ICE agents, she said, no special accommodations are being made for more military personnel.
The other side:
She also offered a pointed message to the president about diverting resources to immigration enforcement.
“Great Lakes Naval Training Base, where every single recruit in the United States Navy goes through to get their basic training and, later, advanced training—we need to make sure not a single dollar, not a single penny of the resources they have should be directed away from training our nation’s sailors and getting them ready to do their jobs. None of that money needs to be diverted in order to support ICE,” Duckworth said.
What’s next:
All of this comes as Chicago leaders brace for a potential escalation in ICE activity throughout the city and suburbs as early as this week.
