Pritzker’s clash with Trump offers political test for Illinois governor

By Eric Bradner, CNN

(CNN) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has been eager to push back against President Donald Trump, and now the moment that could catapult him into the national limelight — with near-term consequences for his state and long-term implications for his political future — has come.

Pritzker said at a news conference Tuesday that a federal immigration enforcement blitz in Chicago is imminent. He also said Trump “has no idea what he’s talking about,” after the president claimed in a social media post that “Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far” and later told reporters the city is a “hellhole.”

“There is no emergency that warrants deployment of troops. He is insulting the people of Chicago by calling our home a hellhole, and anyone who takes his word at face value is insulting Chicagoans, too,” Pritzker said.

The Illinois governor’s comments came hours after Trump told reporters at the White House he will send National Guard troops into Chicago — but did not say when.

“Well, we’re going. I didn’t say when. We’re going in,” Trump said.

The president added that Pritzker should call him and request federal assistance after a rash of 34 shootings in the city over Labor Day weekend that left seven people dead and 49 others wounded.

And he told reporters that the two Democratic governors who have fought his administration most forcefully, Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, are “the two worst and most naive” governors in the nation.

Pritzker responded that Illinois doesn’t want what Trump insists he’ll deliver.

“When did we become a country where it’s OK for the US president to insist on national television that a state should call him to beg for anything — especially something we don’t want?” Pritzker said Tuesday. “Have we truly lost all sense of sanity in this nation, that we treat this as normal?”

The governor stood alongside Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — often a political rival — and state Attorney General Kwame Raoul for Tuesday’s news conference. Johnson criticized Trump for cutting grants for gun violence prevention programs that he said were effective.

The back-and-forth with Trump is a test for Pritzker that could play a role in determining his political future within a party in which voters say they are unhappy with the party’s leadership and looking for stronger efforts to combat Trump’s actions.

A CNN poll conducted by SSRS in July found that Democratic and Democratic-aligned voters were much more energized than Republicans about participating in next year’s midterms. But the poll also revealed deep problems facing the party, including from within its own ranks — where voters are eager to see the party stand up more forcefully against Trump. Just 28% of Americans view the Democratic Party favorably, the lowest mark for Democrats in the history of CNN’s polling going back to 1992.

Pritzker, a billionaire member of the family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain who is seeking a third term as governor in 2026, is widely viewed as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender.

That contest could include a number of other Democratic officials who have taken different approaches to Trump’s actions during his second term in office. Newsom has been among the most confrontational — opposing Trump’s efforts and mocking the president’s style on social media. Others, like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, have been more muted — at times cooperating with the Trump administration.

Pritzker has long been building for his moment against Trump — and for what could eventually become a 2028 presidential campaign.

In April, he traveled to New Hampshire, which is poised to play an early role in the 2028 nominating contest, though Democrats have not yet finalized their presidential primary calendar.

He lambasted “the culture of timidity” within the Democratic Party, rejected what he bemoaned as “the culture of incrementalism” and called for “do-nothing” figures to step aside.

“Fellow Democrats, for far too long we’ve been guilty of listening to a bunch of do-nothing political types who would tell us that America’s house is not on fire, even as the flames are licking their faces. Today, as the blaze reaches the rafters, the pundits and politicians – whose simpering timidity served as kindle for the arsonists – urge us now not to reach for a hose,” he said.

“Meanwhile, if we took care to listen to the voices of real people, we would hear our neighbors and friends standing on the street outside screaming for a response, one big enough for a five-alarmer.”

It’s not yet clear when federal officials will launch a large-scale effort in Illinois. Pritzker told reporters Tuesday he expects “what has played out in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, to happen here in Chicago” within days.

He said the Trump administration is staging federal agents and vehicles on federal property, such as the Naval Station Great Lakes in nearby Lake County, Indiana. He also said he has “reason to believe” the Texas National Guard is preparing to be deployed in Illinois.

Additionally, “unidentifiable” agents in unmarked vehicles with masks are planning to raid Latino communities, in the name of targeting “violent criminals,” the governor said. Pritzker said a very small percentage of the targeted individuals are actually violent.

“Instead, you’re to see videos of them hauling away mothers and fathers traveling to work or picking up their kids from school. Sometimes they will detain, handcuff and haul away children,” Pritzker said.

The governor said the state is ready to fight the troop deployment in court.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that agents operating inside the confines of this state, do so in a legal and ethical manner,” he said.

He said he expects the Trump administration’s efforts will coincide with Mexican Independence Day, which is September 16 and typically celebrated widely in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Festivities start September 6 with a parade in Pilsen, a heavily Latino Lower West Side neighborhood.

“It breaks my heart that we have been told ICE will try and disrupt community picnics and peaceful parades,” Pritzker said. “Let’s be clear, the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here.”

CNN’s Emma Tucker contributed to this report.

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