• Trump threatens to deploy the "Department of War" in Chicago amidst rising tensions.
• Illinois Governor Pritzker labels Trump's actions as authoritarian and unprecedented.
• Protests erupt in Chicago against Trump's military intervention plans.
• Trump clarifies he intends to "clean up" cities rather than declare war.
• Federal immigration enforcement operations underway in the city.

President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric against Chicago, threatening to unleash what he calls the "Department of War" on the city. This comes in the wake of his posts emphasizing a need for federal intervention, sparking considerable backlash among local officials and citizens alike. "Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR," Trump stated on his Truth Social account, provoking outrage from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who responded, "The president... is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal," according to Le Monde and Channel News Asia.

In addition to this alarming language, protests erupted in Chicago in response to Trump's suggestions of military action, with demonstrators criticizing his rhetoric. Signs bore messages like "stop this fascist regime!" and "no Trump, no troops," reflecting widespread disapproval of the president's increasing military threats. Protesters gathered not only in Chicago but also in Washington, D.C., where similar sentiments echoed during marches against Trump's tactics, emphasizing the fear of federal overreach into local governance, according to The Hill and NPR.

Shortly after his alarming posts, Trump clarified that he did not intend to "go to war" with Chicago but instead aimed to "clean up" the city to address rising crime rates. "We're not going to war. We're going to clean up our cities," Trump asserted. Critics, including Pritzker, have dismissed this clarification as insincere, pointing out Trump's contradictory messaging and the implications of militarizing local law enforcement forces, according to ABC News and Los Angeles Times.

The intensity of Trump's remarks follows the launch of federal immigration enforcement operations dubbed "Midway Blitz," which aims to target undocumented immigrants in Chicago, a move echoing previous actions taken in other Democratic-led areas like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. These deployments have drawn legal scrutiny, raising questions about the constitutionality and appropriateness of such military interventions in urban areas, as noted by Le Monde and Channel News Asia.