US President Donald Trump on Saturday made a Truth Social post threatening to send National Guard troops to Chicago, in a fresh escalation of his conflict with the Democrats-led city administration.
This is not new, given that Trump has already made similar federal interventions in Los Angeles and the Washington, DC metropolitan area. But what caught the eye in Saturday’s post is a not-so-subtle reference to Francis Ford Cappola’s 1979 film, ‘Apocalypse Now.’
“I love the smell of deportations in the morning…,” Trump wrote, quoting an iconic dialogue by Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore, from Apocalypse Now. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of War,” he added, along with three helicopter emojis.
Along the caption, there was a photo of Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore sitting on the surf beach the Air Cavalry has just secured after a napalm strike during the Vietnam War. But nstead of Bill Kilgore’s face (played by Robert Duvall), Trump’s face was morphed into the image.
Here’s the post:
What’s the reference? Explained
Apocalypse Now is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War (1955-1975). It follows the US Army’s Captain Willard’s dangerous mission up the Vietnam rivers to find and kill rogue Colonel Kurtz. The reference to Trump’s post, as explained before, is related to a dialogue in the 1979 film.
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The actual line in the film that Lt. Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall) delivers is: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Kilgore sits on the coast of a Vietnamese coastal village beach where he always wanted to surf despite the fighting. Then the napalm strike is conducted by the US Army’s Air Cavalry, and the beach is secured by the US. The line, delivered with calmness, reflects Kilgore’s happiness at being able to surf on the beach.
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” Lt. Col. Kilgore says. “You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn’t find one of them, not one stinkin’ dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell… the whole hill. Smelled like… victory. Someday this war’s gonna end.”
The Vietnam War caused an estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million deaths, including about 58,000 Americans.
Apocalypse Now won two Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Sound in 1980, with six other nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. It also earned the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979.
