Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’s worried about how President Donald Trump might respond to the growing controversy over documents tying him to Jeffrey Epstein.
TL;DR
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker warns Trump will use Epstein connection to distract from "devastating" information.
- Pritzker fears Trump may instigate foreign conflict, like with Venezuela, for distraction.
- He criticized Democrats for caving on a government shutdown vote, benefiting Trump.
- Pritzker also described Trump as a narcissist and suggested he has dementia.
“My great fear, of course, is that with the release of that information, which I think will be devastating for Trump, he’s going to do everything in his power to distract,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview on Wednesday. “What does that mean? I mean, he might take us to war with Venezuela just to get a distraction in the news and take it out of the headlines.”
Pritzker, widely considered a top contender for the top potential Democratic presidential contenders in 2028, also leveled some of his most pointed remarks at fellow Democrats. He stated that the choice by Seven Democratic senators and one independent to join Republicans in a Senate vote to cease the government shutdown was a “enormous mistake” that directly benefited Trump.
“I’ve been on team fight from the very beginning,” Pritzker said. “And I don’t appreciate when we’ve got Democrats who are caving in and doing basically what the Trump administration wants.”
Pritzker did not join calls for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to step aside, which has come from some Democrats who think he should have fought harder. “I’m not sure this is the one thing that people should focus on to put them over the edge about it,” the governor said.
He was instead more critical of the group of Democratic senators who voted for the deal, which included Sen. Dick Durbin, his own state’s senior senator.
“We were winning,” said Pritzker, pointing to resounding Democratic wins in elections across the country last week. “I do not understand why people caved when we were on the verge of getting real change.”
Since Trump’s reelection, Pritzker — an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune — has been among the president’s fiercest Democratic critics. On Wednesday, he described Trump as “a narcissist” and said he believed the president “has dementia.”
Pritzker's remarks regarding Trump's employment of diversionary tactics emerged as newly released documents brought renewed attention to Trump's association with Epstein. In a 2019 correspondence to a reporter, Epstein stated that Trump “knew about the girls,”, though the extent of his knowledge and its relevance to the sex offender's offenses remain uncertain. The White House alleged that Democrats deliberately released the emails to damage the president's reputation.
Few governors have experienced Trump's application of force as closely as Pritzker, who has observed federal personnel arrive in Chicago and its surrounding areas recently as part of “ Operation Midway Blitz.” Over 3,300 individuals believed to have immigration infractions have been apprehended since September, with certain incursions utilizing helicopters, tear gas, and nocturnal activities.
“This is part of the militarization of our American cities that Donald Trump is engaging in,” Pritzker said. “And it’s dangerous. It shouldn’t happen, but he’s got a purpose behind it. And it’s to affect our elections in 2026.”
Pritzker stated that the significant immigration enforcement measures observed in Chicago would shortly be extended to additional states, mentioning he had recently conferred with North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein following accounts suggesting the administration might deploy federal personnel to Charlotte.
“I’m hoping that the pushback will finally lead them to ratchet down their efforts,” said Pritzker.