President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked if he was “trying to go to war with Chicago,” after he posted a meme portraying the city as an Apocalypse Now–style war zone.

During a terse exchange, the reporter asked the president about the meme, which depicted Chicago burning with a caption: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

“Are you threatening to go to war with Chicago?” NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor as Trump was leaving the White House en route to the US Open in New York City.

“When you say that, darling, that’s fake news,” Trump said.

Alcindor tried to cut in at that point, but Trump wouldn’t allow it.

“Be quiet, listen!” Trump said. “You don’t listen! You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate. We’re not going to war we’re gonna clean up our cities. We’re gonna. Clean them up, so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war, that’s common sense.”

Another reporter then pressed Trump on why he planned to send troops to Chicago when other cities report higher crime rates.

“Excuse me, do you know how many people were killed in Chicago last weekend?” Trump said. “Eight. Do you know many people who were killed, were killed in Chicago the week before? Seven. Do you how many were wounded? Seventy-four people were wounded. You think there’s worse than that? I don’t think so.”

.@POTUS BODIES @Yamiche for asking if we’re “going to war with Chicago”:

“You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate. We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities… so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war. That’s common sense.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SJluB8lbyX

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 7, 2025

Last Friday, Trump signed an executive order restoring the Pentagon’s pre–World War II name, the Department of War.

In recent days, he has hinted at deploying the National Guard to Chicago to combat crime, as he did in Washington, D.C., where he went further last month by assuming control of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Trump has also suggested sending troops to Baltimore and New Orleans, both of which have higher murder rates than Chicago but fewer total homicides.

Questions remain over whether Trump can legally deploy the National Guard to cities without a governor’s consent. Illinois and Maryland — both run by Democrats seen as possible 2028 contenders — have been mentioned as potential targets, while Louisiana is under Republican control.

Trump’s authority suffered a setback earlier this month when a federal judge ruled he broke the law by sending the Guard to Los Angeles during recent riots. But that ruling seems dubious given that other presidents have deployed National Guard troops under similar circumstances in the past.

The ruling is also under appeal by the administration and is likely to wind up at the Supreme Court.

Last month, Trump declared an emergency and dispatched federal agents and National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., an action that has seen a noticable drop in crime following a surge of arrests.

In fact, the move has been so successful that Washington, D.C., Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered the city to continue working with federal law enforcement officers, even after Trump’s takeover is set to expire next week.

Bowser signed the order Tuesday, saying that city officials will “ensure coordination with federal law enforcement to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District” even when the public safety emergency Trump proclaimed over crime in D.C. last month ends. The order has no expiration date and takes effect right away.

In a statement posted on social media, Bowser said that she issued the order “to provide the pathway forward beyond the Presidential emergency.”

Trump administration officials said in the weeks since their takeover, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in D.C.