Trump’s ‘Department of War’ Meme and Chicago Immigration Crackdown: A Look Back at a Controversial 2025 Episode
Trump’s ‘Department of War’ Meme and Chicago Immigration Crackdown: A Look Back at a Controversial 2025 Episode
In a controversial episode from 2025, then-President Donald Trump stirred national debate by posting a meme on social media, threatening Chicago with an immigration crackdown and provocatively stating the city would ‘find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.’ This declaration followed an executive order signed by Trump just the day prior, rebranding the Pentagon as the ‘Department of War.’
The meme, featuring an artificially generated image of Trump with the Chicago skyline and the text ‘Chipocalypse Now,’ quickly drew sharp criticism. Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker condemned the post, labeling it ‘not normal’ and accusing Trump of threatening ‘to go to war with an American city.’ Mayor Brandon Johnson echoed these sentiments, asserting that Trump’s threats were ‘beneath the honor of our nation’ and a move towards authoritarianism.
The social media post came amidst reports of the Trump administration’s plans for a significant immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, with personnel from Immigration and Border Protection and Customs and Border Protection already deploying to the city. White House officials at the time indicated the potential for calling in the National Guard if the operation faced significant public reaction, drawing parallels to a similar, though legally challenged, operation in Los Angeles earlier that year. The Chicago operation was explicitly differentiated from broader crime crackdowns Trump had floated for the city.
The incident ignited a fierce debate over presidential rhetoric, federal authority, and immigration policy, with lawmakers like Senator Tammy Duckworth and Representative Mike Quigley vocally denouncing Trump’s actions and warning of a shift towards authoritarian governance.
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