President Donald Trump and the White House apparently shared footage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Florida taken months ago — while claiming the “chaos” was taking place in Chicago, according to a report.
As Trump deployed some 500 National Guard troops to Illinois Wednesday, the White House shared footage of masked and armed ICE officers knocking down doors and making arrests.
“An incompetent Mayor. A delusional Governor. Chicago is in chaos, and the American people are paying the price,” the White House wrote on its official X account. “Chicago doesn’t need a political spin — it needs HELP.”
The clip includes a voiceover of the president calling Chicago a “mess” along with images of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, whom Trump has called for the jailing of, despite neither being accused of criminal wrongdoing.
As the Democratic leaders’ faces appeared on the screen, so did the words: “ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIENS, CARTELS, AND GANGS ARE POISONING OUR KIDS.”
However, much of the footage featured in the video, which Trump also shared on his Truth Social account, was filmed in April in Florida, according toThe Daily Beast.
Some of the footage even shows palm trees, which are common in Florida, but not so much in Chicago.
The Department of Homeland Security has shared footage of its Operation Tidal Wave, which took place earlier this year in Florida, online and the clips can be viewed by the public, per the report. The agency described the operation in May as the “largest joint immigration operation in Florida history,” leading to “1,120 criminal alien arrests.”
Pritzker, who has been a repeated target of Trump’s taunts and threats in recent weeks, slammed the administration’s efforts to mislead the American public.
“We are proud that Chicago was just ranked the best big city in the United States. We are proud of its beautiful beaches, booming businesses, and decent people. However, we cannot claim credit for many palm trees here,” the governor’s spokesperson, Matt Hill, told The Daily Beast.
Accusing the president and his team of knowingly deceiving Americans, Hill said, “We know the lies don’t just come out of their mouth.”
“So it’s not surprising that the Trump team spends more time producing videos purporting images of Florida as Illinois — rather than spending any time to lower prices or protect healthcare for hardworking Americans,” Hill added.
The Trump administration has continued to portray Democratic cities as war-ravaged and lawless amid its crackdown on illegal immigration, with the president targeting Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., before setting his sights on Chicago.
In recent public comments, Trump went as far as saying that Pritzker and Johnson, Chicago’s mayor, “should be in jail.” Pritzker fired off in response: “Come and get me.”
A lawsuit was filed Monday by Illinois and Chicago challenging the deployment of National Guard troops, which would be coming from Illinois and Texas. Even though a federal judge gave the Trump administration two days to respond, troops arrived in the city Wednesday.
The National Guard said Wednesday that roughly 200 soldiers from Texas and 300 from Illinois had gathered in the Chicago area, and were ready to protect federal personnel, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and federal property in the city.
A federal judge also said Thuersday that federal agents are temporarily blocked from firing rubber bullets, tear gas and other chemical munitions at protesters and journalists in Chicago.
While Trump and other MAGA officials have raged over what they have tried to play off as lawless and violent protests in cities, including Chicago, most of the protests against Trump’s immigration policies have been peaceful and smaller scale.
Several hundred people marched in downtown Chicago Wednesday night protesting the deployment — a reflection of the increasing anger against Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement in the area.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
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