President Donald Trump sparked controversy after posting a meme depicting Chicago as a war zone, captioned: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The post drew backlash and prompted questions about whether Trump was threatening military action against the city.

During a press exchange, NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor asked if he was “trying to go to war with Chicago.” Trump dismissed the question as “fake news,” calling Alcindor “second-rate” and telling her to “be quiet” and “listen.” He insisted the administration wasn’t waging war, but rather trying to “clean up” violent cities. “That’s not war, that’s common sense,” he said.

Pressed further about his plans to send troops to Chicago—despite the fact that other cities have higher crime rates—Trump pointed to recent weekend violence in the city, citing eight deaths and 74 injuries. He argued that the severity of the violence justified federal intervention, even if other cities like Baltimore and New Orleans have worse per-capita murder rates.

Trump recently signed an executive order restoring the Pentagon’s pre–World War II name, the Department of War. He has also floated deploying the National Guard to various cities. However, legal concerns remain over whether he can send troops without the consent of state governors—especially in Democrat-led states like Illinois and Maryland.

Despite a court ruling against his use of the Guard in Los Angeles, Trump’s federal deployment in Washington, D.C., has led to over 1,000 arrests. In response, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an order to continue working with federal law enforcement beyond the emergency declaration’s expiration.