A plain-spoken, fearless politician with a twinkle in his eye
I spoke with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a man refreshingly candid about his disgust with the current administration's policies and its lack of humane leadership
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois is among the boldest critics of Donald Trump. After an appearance in Washington, D.C. at the Center for American Progress on Tuesday, he told me he’s not afraid of retribution against his state. “Donald Trump has hated Chicago and Illinois since before he became president,” he said. “And he’s been attacking me for quite some time.”
When running for governor in 2017 and 2018, Pritzker began each speech by saying, “Everything we care about is under siege by a racist, misogynist, homophobic, xenophobic president in Washington D.C.”
So it’s not like Trump doesn’t already have it in for Pritzker and his state. Regardless of the potential impact, Pritzker highlighted the outrageous behavior we now regularly witness.
“Do we now live in a country where we're going to be afraid to speak up because the president of the United States is going to visit retribution upon you or your state because of what you have to say? I can't remember in my entire lifetime any president ... [who said he] would do that!”
But that is the America in which we find ourselves…again. In his remarks at CAP, Pritzker was blunt that Trump and Elon Musk’s effort to slash government is not about “efficiencies or about cost savings.” He emphatically declared, “It is about cruelty,” insisting that the MAGA crowd is out to destroy the federal government to recreate it to suit their needs. (And, unlike Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who pines for cooperation from GOP senators, Pritzker says “fat chance” to the notion that Senate Republicans are ever going to turn on Trump.
Pritzker also observed that the administration is trying to shrug off the prospect of a recession. “Elon Musk is okay with you experiencing economic pain,” he declared. Why then are Democrats struggling so? In his eyes, there is a “disconnect” between voters and pro-worker policies.
“Democrats have to make people’s lives better,” he told the CAP audience. How? By delivering results. In Illinois, Pritzker can point to major accomplishments in making college more affordable, canceling medical debt, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and enhancing early childhood education. He added that the state enshrined reproductive rights before Dobbs, ended book bans, and made sure accurate history is taught. “It’s about lifting people up,” he explained, “whether protecting the vulnerable or helping people get ahead.”
This was not an appearance from someone solely focused on his own state. Pritzker is plainly speaking to a national audience currently desperate for leadership. He embraces that role. “I’ve got the bully pulpit in the 5th biggest state in the United States, the 5th biggest economy,” he said. And he intends to use it.
His deep voice and everyman appearance convey normalness; his simple, declarative language suggests toughness and a no-nonsense attitude toward problem-solving (something that eludes many congressional Democrats). Whether describing a friend’s daughter who was denied emergency medical care for lack of “preauthorization” or disparaging tariffs’ impact on small businesses and grocery prices, he has the knack of making politics personal.
There is no doubt he is a gifted politician at a moment when Democrats want authenticity and willingness to fight. His advice to focus on working- and middle-class families comes with a punchy delivery: “Why are we not all screaming about a $7.25 minimum wage?... Why are we not the party of small business?” And when it comes to “common ground,” he later said that such an ambition is only possible with those “rational” Republicans. His refusal to mince words is refreshing. “I guarantee that people have lost their lives because of these cuts, certainly overseas,” he states emphatically. “I’ve already seen homeless veterans being tossed aside. It’s just cruel.”
Recently, he backed a “No” vote on the CR, but doesn’t favor dumping Schumer now. (He also heaped praise upon Illinois Democratic Senator, Tammy Duckworth, who voted “No.” He kept silent on Dick Durbin, who went the weasel route in backing Schumer.)
One-on-one, Pritzker comes across as a kind, avuncular figure. He tells me about efforts to lend a hand to federal workers summarily laid off—whether that means hiring them for state government positions or holding job fairs. Still, there is only so much he can do. “I am seeing in our Department of Economic Security, where we handle unemployment, that there are thousands of workers that are no longer with the federal government now, collecting unemployment,” he noted.
The pain will be profound. If the federal government pulls back on Affordable Care Act subsidies, some of the 770,000 people getting coverage through the ACA will go without insurance. The prospect of huge cuts to Medicaid also looms. “I'm going to do whatever it is that I can do, but I can't come up with $8 billion to keep a federal program going in my state,” he said. “I can spend hundreds of millions of dollars to try to provide free health care for people who are most acute, but people are going to die because of what they're doing.”
Pritzker certainly can go for the jugular. He recalls during Covid having to reroute millions of quality masks as well as ventilators through customs in Alaska (rather than through Chicago’s O’Hare teeming with customs agents) to avoid the experience Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker endured; having the federal government confiscate materials Massachusetts had sourced from overseas (!). He also recalls speaking to Peter Navarro about sending aid. “He said, ‘I think we can help you but only if you'll go on the Sunday programs and say nice things about the president.’” Pritzker is still incredulous. “Even during a national crisis it's about him getting positive press.” Ouch.
Pritzker also puts home state Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), a veteran who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, on the hotseat when it comes to massive cuts at the VA. “I can't help but think that if you're a Republican congressman, and veterans in your district are hurting, you're not going to respond to that in some way that helps them.” It’s fear that keeps them loyal to Trump, he says, but when real constituents feel real pain and voice their anger, Republicans need to decide how far they’re willing to go for Trump while stiffing constituents.
I asked him about his reaction to Trump’s bullying of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. “This president has basically switched sides, and so people are appalled,” he said bluntly. “The hero here is Zelensky. Our enemy is Vladimir Putin. How is it that the United States is switching sides to support the villain?”
Pritzker has not announced his intentions for 2028, although many expect him to run. He can authentically and emotionally espouse his love of country to a large crowd. He choked up while telling the audience that America is still the greatest country on earth, and one worth defending for the freedom, security, and world leadership it offers. To read it, that might sound hokey or trite. In person, it was moving.
These days, Democrats could surely use a plain-spoken politician who can take on the MAGA billionaires—with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye that tells the audience they are all onto the Trump scam and can overcome it.
Democrats could do a lot worse than seeing a 2028 matchup between Pritzker and any one of the off-putting Trump imitators.
And in case you missed these articles yesterday, please catch up on extraordinary posts by an Anonymous source; Marvin Kalb; Jennifer Weiss Wolf; Jeff Nesbit; Olivia Julianna; and an interview with Jen Rubin and Professor Michael Albertus.
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Agree 110% He is a leader with a spine, a moral compass and the knowledge to call out the monster in the oval office. Thank you Governor JB Pritzker. He makes me proud to be from
America, especially now, when there is so little to be proud of.
This is how you fight a bully. You go, Gov. Pritzker. We're behind you all the way.