"Be Quiet, Listen!": Trump Snaps at Reporter Over Chicago War Question (Watch)

US President Donald Trump clashed with a reporter after she asked if he was preparing to "go to war" with Chicago, dismissing it as "fake news." Trump insisted his plan is to clean up violent cities, not wage war.

Washington DC: In a fiery exchange with the press on Sunday, US President Donald Trump snapped at a reporter who asked if he was preparing to "go to war" with Chicago. The confrontation came a day after Trump shared a controversial meme warning that the city would soon learn the meaning of his newly revived “Department of War.”

Speaking to reporters before departing for New York to attend the US Open, Trump dismissed the question outright. "When you say that, darling, that’s fake news," he said sharply. When the reporter pressed further, Trump cut her off: "Be quiet, listen! You don’t listen! You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate."

Trump Says It’s About Cleaning Cities, Not War

The president insisted his comments were not about war but about restoring order in crime-hit cities. "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," Trump said.

Chicago’s Crime Rate in Spotlight

Trump pointed to Chicago’s homicide statistics as justification for his comments. "Do you know how many people were killed in Chicago last weekend? Eight. The week before? Seven. Do you know how many were wounded? Seventy-four people," he told reporters.

Chicago has long been a flashpoint in Trump’s rhetoric on law and order, with the president frequently citing the city’s gun violence as an example of what he calls failed Democratic leadership.

Meme and Executive Order Spark Backlash

On Saturday, Trump shared an Apocalypse Now-style meme on Truth Social that read: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

The post followed his executive order signed a day earlier to restore the Pentagon’s old name, the Department of War — a title that was last used before World War II.

National Guard Deployments Face Legal Hurdles

Trump has also floated sending the National Guard into Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans to combat violent crime. Last month, he controversially deployed troops in Washington DC and even assumed control of the city’s police department.

However, these moves are increasingly facing legal challenges. A federal judge recently ruled that Trump violated the law when he ordered the Guard into Los Angeles without approval from the state’s governor, raising questions about the legality of his broader law-and-order agenda.