By John Q. Hosedrinker 
President Trump amplified his intention to send National Guard troops and immigration agents to Chicago via a social media post featuring a parody image referencing “Apocalypse Now”. The president’s post included the phrase, “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” prompting criticism from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who labeled Trump a “wannabe dictator.” This announcement follows Trump’s previous deployments of troops to other Democratic-led cities and a recently signed executive order seeking to rename the Defense Department the Department of War. The promised operation in Chicago faces strong opposition from city and state leaders, who are planning to sue the administration.
Read the original article here
The notion of a US President threatening an American city with “apocalyptic force” feels like something ripped from the pages of a dystopian novel, yet here we are. The language used is stark, and the implications are deeply troubling. How can one not see this as a direct threat against citizens, a potential act of war on American soil? It’s far from normal, and it demands scrutiny. This isn’t about reducing crime; it’s about control, about occupying territory where opposition thrives, where federal troops can be deployed to quell dissent.
Interestingly, we also see a peculiar dynamic where Republican governors, even from states grappling with high crime rates, hesitate to welcome the same military presence into *their* cities. This is a telling contrast.
The core issue is that these aggressive measures are unlikely to address the underlying causes of crime. Throwing troops into densely populated areas ignores the complex web of socioeconomic factors, the lack of community resources, the problems within law enforcement, the systemic injustices in the legal system, the erosion of social safety nets, and the historical neglect that disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.
This feels like a political maneuver, designed to create the *illusion* of safety, while simultaneously centralizing authoritarian control, particularly in Democrat-led cities. The potential for using this military presence to suppress votes in urban areas as elections approach is a very real concern.
For decades, “law and order” has served as a conservative dog whistle. We know that Trump and his supporters often operate under a different set of rules, viewing themselves as above the law. They seem to believe that the law applies selectively to their “enemies,” not to themselves.
To understand the gravity of the current situation, it’s helpful to consider the historical context. The Republican party has a long history of employing strategies to attract specific voter demographics.
The use of the “Southern Strategy” in the 1960s was critical. It targeted white, conservative voters alienated by civil rights and desegregation policies, skillfully exploiting racial tensions and merging conservative and religious values. This strategy proved incredibly effective, and it reshaped the American political landscape.
By the 1980s, a new conservative movement solidified. Figures like George Wallace, Barry Goldwater, William Rehnquist, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan used “Law and Order” rhetoric and campaign talking points to engage with disgruntled white conservatives in the South. Their language was laced with dog whistles, designed to inflame racial tensions and plant fears of violence, desegregation, and black crime in their neighborhoods.
This movement also birthed the “moral majority,” and a Christian fundamentalist revival, further drawing conservatives to the Republican party; turning Christians into a political force for the right.
It also attracted white conservatives to the party by appealing to their grievances around how these deep societal changes were challenging the structural norms, myths, ideologies and hierarchies of a pre racial America and its dominant white culture.
Today, the conservative party has deep roots in this movement and has grown increasingly ethnocentric as a result.
Today, their law and order rhetoric is rife with thinly veiled dog whistles meant to incite hostility towards minorities, immigrants and marginalized groups. It’s also used to justify their blatant, authoritarian policies. To them, “law and order” means punishing their enemies.
Their obsession with crime and punishment is reflected in their support for these efforts that federalize troops and police to “crackdown” on political dissidents, in their militarization of domestic policy, in their weaponization of the DOJ, in their disregard for the basic constitutional rights of the people they target and detain, in Trump’s attacks on law firms and judges, and in his reprimand of anyone who has ever tried to hold him accountable, among other things of course.
The hypocrisy is truly staggering. While some demand a Nobel Peace Prize for largely symbolic efforts on the global stage, he is simultaneously waging a figurative war against the American people he is supposed to protect.
These tactics, including the current divisive rhetoric, the scapegoating of minorities, and the spreading of fear, are lifted directly from the fascist playbook. The occupation of cities like Chicago seems like a very real possibility. We might be well past the point of considering this a “wannabe” situation. The reality is, this is a dictatorship in action. The phrase “wannabe” is an understatement.
It is now a dictatorship, and the checks and balances, are unfortunately ineffective. Trump is threatening to wage war on an American city, and we have ample proof that he would.
Let’s not forget the fervor of the attacks on Joe Biden for potential shady business dealings with his son. Shouldn’t a truly alarming action like this be taken more seriously? This administration clearly intends to use our military to crush our rights. State and local leaders must do everything they can to protect their residents from this abuse of power.
How one human being was elected twice is bewildering. Governor Pritzker has a clear responsibility to use the state national guard to defend the city from potential occupation and terror.
From the “no more wars” & “peacemaker” President, who has said he “I love the smell of deportations in the morning”, and declared that “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
The MAGA mind virus circle jerk of course chiming in with chants for Trump to “SaVe aMeRiCa.”
It’s a sad state of affairs. The very notion of “wannabe” has become obsolete. He’s a dictator, plain and simple. The system of checks and balances isn’t working when one branch of government won’t do its job. Trump is a weak and petty man, and Chicago will likely respond in defiance. Chicago would do well to assemble its own forces, led perhaps by an inspirational figure to defend against the occupation.
We’re seeing the media being controlled. The headlines are being dominated by one story, pushing others aside. There is a serious question as to whether this President is a dictator.
The fear is that the public will be caught in the lie. The idea that if a Democratic President were to make a move of this magnitude, there would be outrage.
This is not just about crime. This is about power and control.