Donald Trump and the White House are once again facing heat for a stunt that critics say is as deceptive as it is dramatic—posting a video about so-called “chaos” in Chicago that turns out to include arrest footage from Florida.
The video, posted Wednesday to the official White House X account, is a slick, high-octane production featuring heavily armed agents kicking in doors, dragging suspects out of homes, and a grim voiceover from Trump calling Chicago a “mess.” The footage is paired with aggressive on-screen text claiming “ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIENS, CARTELS, AND GANGS ARE POISONING OUR KIDS,” all while flashing images of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“An incompetent Mayor,” the White House captioned the video. “A delusional Governor. Chicago is in chaos, and the American people are paying the price. Chicago doesn’t need political spin—it needs HELP.”
But the irony was almost immediate.
As the video made its rounds—shared by Trump on Truth Social like a badge of honor—eagle-eyed viewers and reporters noticed something strange. Palm trees. Lots of them. In a city where the cold would kill a coconut in seconds.
Turns out, much of the footage wasn’t from Chicago at all. It was taken from a Department of Homeland Security operation in Florida—Operation Tidal Wave—a large-scale immigration raid from April that DHS proudly published as “Media B-Roll… State of Florida.” Not exactly the gritty streets of Chicago Trump claims are spiraling into anarchy.
The bait-and-switch didn’t sit well with Illinois officials, to put it mildly.
“We are proud that Chicago was just ranked the best big city in the United States,” Gov. Pritzker’s spokesman Matt Hill told The Daily Beast. “We are proud of its beautiful beaches, booming businesses, and decent people. However, we cannot claim credit for many palm trees here.”
“We know the lies don’t just come out of their mouth,” Hill added. “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.”
The video surfaced as Trump ramps up his rhetoric on crime and immigration, targeting Democratic-led cities like Chicago. He has threatened to deploy the National Guard to the city, accusing its leaders of enabling lawlessness. At rallies and online, Trump has claimed Pritzker and Johnson “should be in jail.” Pritzker responded bluntly: “Come and get me.”
Illinois isn’t taking the threat lightly. On Monday, the state sued to block the deployment of National Guard troops, arguing that both the federalization order and the deployment of Texas-based troops violate the Posse Comitatus Act—a law that bars the use of the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement.
The complaint, filed by the Illinois attorney general, calls Trump’s actions an “unlawful and dangerous… ‘war’” on the state and warns of a legal and constitutional crisis. A federal judge declined to immediately block the deployment but set an expedited hearing for the case. Legal experts say it’s murky territory. A judge recently ruled Trump’s similar Guard deployment in Los Angeles was unlawful—a precedent Illinois hopes will work in its favor.
Trump’s legal team has fired back, threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act if the courts or state officials “hold us up”—a move that would give the president sweeping powers to send troops anywhere in the country. He’s floated similar ideas for cities like Portland.
For his part, Pritzker has called the escalating showdown a dangerous “authoritarian” stunt, accusing Trump of turning serious governance into a “reality game show.” He insists troops on the streets won’t make Chicago safer and has vowed to keep fighting in court.
Trump, never one to let a fight go, has continued taunting both Pritzker and Johnson, painting Chicago as a failed, crime-ridden city and blaming Democratic leadership for “tying the hands” of law enforcement. His supporters have echoed the messaging, even as the White House ducks questions about why they used unrelated footage from a completely different state.
The White House claims the Guard is necessary to “protect federal officers and assets,” but hasn’t addressed the Florida footage head-on. The Department of Homeland Security has also stayed quiet.
