September 6, 2025
Today the social media account of President Donald J. Trump posted an AI-generated image of Trump as if he were Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore from the 1979 film Apocalypse Now in front of the Chicago skyline with military helicopters and flames and the caption “Chipocalypse Now.” Kilgore loved the war in Vietnam in which he was engaged; his most famous line was “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
Over the image, Trump’s social media post read: “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning…’ Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The words were followed by three helicopter emojis, symbols the right wing uses to represent former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s goons’ disappearing political opponents by pushing them out of helicopters.
Although it has become trite to speculate about what Republicans would say if a Democratic president engaged in the behavior Trump exhibits daily, this open attack of the president on an American city is a new level of unhinged. Mehdi Hasan of Zeteo wrote: “The president of the United States just declared war, actual military war, not a metaphorical one, on a major American city, and one governed by his political opponents.” He added, accurately: “In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.”
Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker called attention to the gravity of Trump’s post: “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal. Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.” Under the words “Know your rights, Illinois,” and “Stay safe and stay informed,” the governor’s social media account posted information about Americans’ rights in both English and Spanish.
Trump’s threats against American citizens are outrageous, but they also feel desperate. Trump’s popularity is tanking, the economy is faltering, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing a chorus of calls to resign or be fired, and the American people are taking to the streets. Thousands of people turned out today in Washington, D.C., for the “We Are All D.C.” march to protest the presence of troops in the city, and in Chicago for the “Chicago Says No Trump No Troops” protest. The protests are notable for the seas of signs the peaceful protesters carry.
And then, with Congress back in session, there is the resurgence of the issue of Trump’s appearance in the Epstein files. Last week, the White House warned Republicans that voting to release the Epstein files “would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration.” Yesterday, Trump reiterated his claim that the agitation for the release of the files is a “Democrat HOAX…in order to deflect and distract from the great success of a Republican President.”
Also yesterday, lawyers for the Justice Department asked a federal judge to keep the names of two associates who received large payments from Epstein in 2018 secret. Days before the payments, the Miami Herald had started to examine the sweetheart deal Epstein got in 2008. One associate received a payment of $100,000, and the second received $250,000. As part of his plea deal, Tom Winter of NBC News reports, Epstein got a guarantee that the associates would not be prosecuted.
Last night, Trump hosted the inaugural dinner of what the White House is calling the “Rose Garden Club” in the newly-paved White House Rose Garden, telling those assembled that they were there because they are loyal to the president. “You’re the ones that I never had to call at 4:00 in the morning,” Trump told them. “You are the ones that have been my friends, and you know what I’m talking about.”
Yesterday, talking to reporters about the Epstein files, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that Trump was “an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down.” The idea that Trump was secretly working to bring Epstein down is common fare among conspiracy theorists, but as Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo suggests, Johnson’s embrace of it might well be an attempt to spin material in the files before it becomes public.
Marshall notes that journalist Michael Wolff, who interviewed Epstein at length during Trump’s first presidency, says that Epstein suspected it was Trump who told the authorities about his systemic sexual assault of girls. But if so, Marshall explains, this is damning rather than exonerating.
It’s pretty well known that Trump and Epstein had a falling out in 2004 after Trump went behind Epstein’s back to buy an estate in South Florida that Epstein wanted. But at the time, Trump was headed toward bankruptcy, and it was not clear where he was getting the money to buy the estate.
Marshall calls attention to a recent interview in which Wolff said that Epstein suspected Trump was laundering money for a Russian oligarch—and indeed, Trump did flip the property to a Russian oligarch for a profit of more than $50 million a few years after buying it—and threatened to sue Trump, bringing the money laundering to light. At that point, the Epstein investigation began.
According to Wolff, Epstein believed Trump had notified the police about what was going on at Epstein’s house, which he knew because he was a frequent visitor. Marshall speculates that Johnson mentioned that Trump was an informant because that information could well be in the files the Department of Justice has, and they’re trying to spin it ahead of time to make it sound like Trump was a hero.
But both Wolff and Marshall note that if indeed Trump turned the FBI onto Epstein, it shows he knew what was taking place at Epstein’s properties.
Johnson’s claim that Trump was an FBI informant suggests Trump’s team is worried that as more and more people get access to the files, it will be increasingly difficult to hide what’s in them. Trump's demand for Republicans’ loyalty suggests that at least some of them are starting to recalculate it. And that, in turn, might have something to do with why he is putting troops in the streets.
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Notes:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/03/politics/transparency-epstein-trump-administration
https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/pres-trump-speaks-at-rose-garden-dinner/665294
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/is-this-the-hidden-part-of-the-trump-epstein-drama
https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/chicago-protest-photos-ab99f57029057aa9919be802f85876c2
YouTube:
watch?v=Ihy9MssWEkQ, starting at the 32 minute mark.
Bluesky:
mehdirhasan.bsky.social/post/3ly6jwnjq322t
govpritzker.illinois.gov/post/3ly6mbwbujk2i
govpritzker.illinois.gov/post/3ly6wk2pc7k26
atrupar.com/post/3ly4p6bomfc27
joelhs.bsky.social/post/3ly6rfjumr22l
Even if the pendulum swings back, MAGA fascism has already disrupted (vitiated) democratic processes and ideals so much that, short of incredibly wise, insightful, and highly improbable Constitutional amendments, we're now stuck with an unpredictable, cannibalizing future of see-saw battles for raw power, all feeding on our freedoms, liberties, and standing in the world.
It is an epochal tragedy in the making, thanks to people who think American democracy should be built on an arbitrary, Wild West caste system decided by a dictator.
It is hard to fathom that this declaration of war on an American city comes from our own federal government.
And yet, DT is still sitting in his chair. Nothing we have done yet has stopped him (or them.)
Speaking of “them” aka the overlords, the removal of this demented mouthpiece will not, in itself, stop them now.
Do I think a true resistance could come into being? Yes. But we need to have an honest conversation first.
I live in a mid-sized blue city with a diverse population. A city they already don’t like.
It is only a matter of time.
But, if I don’t see the things that have been tried as effective, what would I suggest?
Take the time now to BUILD community first. We need to talk to each other. And to leave the divisive bullshit out of that conversation, which should be about building local resilience. Not about anyone’s position on Gaza. Not about whether you were a Clinton supporter or a Bernie supporter. Not about whether you follow any particular party ideology.
Just about whether you want to restore the consent of the governed and the rule of law. Just about whether you are willing to participate in mutual aid. And make whatever contribution you can.
In the meantime, on another level, blue STATES are gearing up for the war that DC and MAGA are salivating over. This is our best hope and should be encouraged.
We went off the tracks due to falling for the divisions. And due to magical thinking around being on the right side of history.
Yes, we, the majority of Americans, are absolutely correct about this Regime. But they seized power anyhow. And being right about what happened does nothing to expel them. That will take a great struggle, one that has not yet begun in earnest.
Please talk to your neighbors, protect your vulnerable if you can, watch out for contagious diseases, and start gathering the provisions and resources you will need.
We can win in the end. But not by wishful thinking. Only by doing the things that work.