TRUMPOCALYPSE: President Trump over the weekend posted of a graphic of himself with a cavalry hat in the mode of Robert Duvall in “Apocalypse Now” and the slogan, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning.” Of course Duvall in the Vietnam War movie famously said, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

  But Trump’s meme also says, “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” and “Chipocalypse now.”

  This threat to an American city came from the president of the United States. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said on Twitter/X that “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city,” and that, “This is not a joke. This is not normal.”

  Trump border czar Tom Homan on CNN yesterday said the meme was being “taken out of context” and that it was meant to convey “going to war” with cartels, illegal immigrants, and public safety threats. Homan said National Guard troops and federal agents could be deployed in the city as soon as this week, despite deep opposition from state and local leaders.

  Trump yesterday derided reports as “fake news” and said, “We’re not going to war, we’re going to clean up our cities.” 

LA MIGRA:  South Korea said it had agreed with the US to send a charter jet to bring home more than 300 of its citizens detained by immigration authorities at a Hyundai battery and electric vehicle plant under construction in Georgia.

  Authorities detained 475 people last Thursday, chaining them hand and foot as if they were the most dangerous criminals in the world.  Immigration officials accused the South Korean companies of discriminating against American workers by hiring unauthorized workers from abroad. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the “economic activities of our investment companies and the rights and interests of our citizens must not be unjustly violated during U.S. law enforcement proceedings.”

  President Trump has been encouraging foreign investment in the US and Hyundai’s plant has been touted by Georgia leaders as the largest economic development deal in state history.  Trump posted on his Truth Social this morning that, “Following the Immigration Enforcement Operation on the Hyundai Battery Plant in Georgia, I am hereby calling on all Foreign Companies investing in the United States to please respect our Nation’s Immigration Laws.” 

  We have yet to see an explanation for how the workers got into the country and why Immigration and Customs did not handle the situation administratively rather than staging a dramatic raid.

THE WAR ROOM: In its biggest drone attack of the war on Ukraine, Russian projectiles over the weekend damaged a government building for the first time.  Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had launched 805 Iranian-designed exploding drones and decoys across the country as well as 13 cruise and ballistic missiles. They said nine missiles and nearly 60 drones had evaded air defenses and made impact.

THE REGIME:

— The NY Times notes that President Trump is taking credit for infrastructure bills around the country paid for by a Biden-era bill in Congress that he had opposed. Nonetheless, everything from roads to bridges and rail yard improvements bear a MAGA red sign saying, ““PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, REBUILDING AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE.”

— Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and California Democrat Ro Khanna yesterday told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that they are confident that they’ll soon have enough support to force a floor vote on demanding that the Justice Department release all of its files on the disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

  President Trump on Saturday posted a social media rant saying, “The confused and badly failing Democrat Party did nothing about Jeffrey Epstein while he was alive except befriend him, socialize with him, travel to his Island, and take his money!” Trump himself was once a close friend of Epstein. 

  Even though his party is now in power, Trump wrote, “The Dems don’t care about the victims, as proven by the fact that they never did before. This is merely another Democrat HOAX.”

CENTER COURT: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated Jannik Sinner of Italy 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to claim his sixth major title and second at the US Open.

  President Trump attended the match and was greeted with boos mixed with some cheers at Arthur Ashe Stadium. US Tennis had asked broadcasters to bleep crowd reaction to Trump.

  On Saturday, top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus American Amanda Anisimova, 6-3, 7-6(3), to become the first woman to win back-to-back singles titles in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 2014.

THE OBIT PAGE: Mark Volman, who founded the happy pop band the Turtles in the 1960s with high school buddy Howard Kaylan and sang harmony on the group’s hits, including “Happy Together,” “She’d Rather Be With Me,” and “Elenore,” died in Nashville at age 78.

THE SPIN RACK: Israeli authorities say six people were killed in a terrorist shooting attack at a busy bus station on the outskirts of Jerusalem. They said the two assailants were killed at the scene. — Ryan Routh, 59, who was discovered hiding in the bushes with a gun staking out Donald Trump on his golf course, goes on trial in Florida today on charges of plotting to kill a presidential candidate. — Britain’s Princess Kate has gone back to brunette only days after coming out with blonde hair. So much for a trend.

BELOW THE FOLD:  Grizzled former NFL coach Bill Belichick got his first win as a college coach on Saturday, with the University of North Carolina Tarheels beating Charlotte 20-3. UNC lost its opener 48-14 to Texas Christian, the most points ever scored against a Belichick team. North Carolina hired Belichick to a five-year, $50 million contract to make them a football power. They got his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordan Hudson along with him.

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