Chief of Staff for Governor JB Pritzker. A continually aggravated Philadelphian making her way in the great city of Chicago.
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Pritzker on Trump sending troops into cities: "He has other aims other than fighting crime... he would like to stop the elections in 2026 or frankly take control of those elections. He'll just claim there's some problem with an election and then he's got troops on the ground that can take control."
Pritzker on Trump's authoritarian takeover: "The playbook is the same. It's thwart the media. It's create mayhem that requires military interdiction. These are things that happen throughout history and Donald Trump is just following that playbook."
Pritzker: "We don't want troops on the streets of American cities. That's un-American and frankly the president ought to know better. This one doesn't seem to. He hasn't read any books. He doesn't seem to understand the Constitution or the laws."
Pritzker: "National Guard troops, any kind of troops, on the streets of American city don't belong unless there is an insurrection, unless there is truly an emergency. There is not."
Every elected and civic leader in Chicago stood together on Monday and said - do not do this. And they still appear to be doing it. I know JD has a loose relationship with the truth but does he struggle with the English language too?
Saying - “I don’t think the President of the United States should turn the US military against US citizens” is not admitting crime is not a problem we need to work on. Trump has some of you so spooked you can’t just say a bad thing is a bad thing. And that’s dangerous and bad politics. Wake up.
You don’t need to message test this. You don’t need 56 focus groups where you ask different subsets of voters how they feel about crime. We were all taught in elementary school that we fought a noble Revolutionary War over issues like the protection of state sovereignty.
I am begging my fellow Dems to emerge from the reflexive “it’s a trap” position on these issues and realize that some things are very simple: the public doesn’t like the federal government turning the military against its own citizens.The public doesn’t like the armed occupation of a city.Period.
this point—that this era is not forever and accountability can come in many forms—has for some reason proved bizarrely elusive for democrats
Tyrants govern through fear. Dictators take their power from the acquiescence of the good people who don't speak out. It is our obligation as citizens to set aside fear and take a step forward not a step back.
This is an effective message from the governor, especially with both senators and the mayor of Chicago standing behind him in a unified show of defiance. DC, of course, doesn't have most of those officials, which is why the lack of congressional pushback there matters so much these days.
Pritzker: This is not about fighting crime. This is about the President and his complicit lackey, Stephen Miller, searching for ways to lay the groundwork to circumvent our democracy, militarize our cities, and end elections.
"The state of Illinois is ready to stand against this military deployment with every peaceful tool we have. We will see the Trump administration in court." Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks out on Trump’s threat to send members of the National Guard into Chicago.
Pritzker: Trump looked at the cameras and asked for me personally to say, Mr. President, can you do us the honor of protecting our city? Instead, I say, Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. Your remarks about this effort have betrayed a continuing slip in your mental faculties
Pritzker: To the members of the press who are assembled here today and listening across the country, I am asking for your courage to tell it like it is. This is not a time to pretend here that there are two sides to this story.
Illinois Gov. Pritzker vows to pursue Trump officials who participate in an illegal National Guard deployment to Chicago: "If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law."
"Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here, nor needed here." Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responds to President Trump's threats to send National Guard troops to Chicago.
Gov. Pritzker: “This is not about fighting crime. This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try and intimidate his political rivals…There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention.”
Good morning from Chicago!
Just walking around the hellscape that is my Chicago neighborhood this morning
Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he's causing families. We'll continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect Illinoisans.
The safety of the people of Illinois is always my top priority. There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders.
The State of Illinois at this time has received no requests or outreach from the federal government asking if we need assistance, and we have made no requests for federal intervention.
If Democrats talked about Red states and cities this way we’d get three weeks of cable news meltdown and approximately 1000 op-Ed’s chastising the Democrats’ smugness problem.
Illinois is launching a first-of-its-kind legal hotline for LGBTQ+ individuals — Illinois Pride Connect. As the only state in the nation that will provide free legal advice to protect the LGBTQ+ community, we'll help fight ignorance with information and cruelty with compassion.
Happy birthday, Sister Jean! Join me in celebrating a true Illinois icon's 106th.
Good
JB Pritzker: “I reject criticism from Donald Trump who inherited his money and then went bankrupt six times and then defrauded his buisness partners. And by the way he cheats at golf too.”
Do all the Dem pundits who have acted like this is the most important issue in America feel good about that posture today? And before you answer I’ll ask if you’ve spoken up about Pete Hegseth’s endorsement of the disenfranchisement of women this weekend. Thanks.
Pritzker: "It's cheating. Donald Trump is a cheater. He cheats on his wives. He cheats at golf. And now he's trying to cheat the American people out of their votes."
Where are the think pieces from all the folks who like to lecture Dems about social issues on how off putting to voters it is for the Sec of Defense to advocate for stripping women of the right to vote? If you’ve penned an op-ed about bathrooms & women sports recently well then DON’T BE SHY!
Happy anniversary to the time of year when @govpritzker.illinois.gov tries to shame me (and @brendenmoore.bsky.social ) for liking ketchup on a hot dog. I will not apologize, Chicago.
ILLINOIS GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D): "If they're gonna cheat, then all of us have to take a hard look at what the effect of that cheating is on democracy . And that means we've all got to stand up and do the right thing. So as far as I'm concerned, everything is on the table."
It's giving www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sBC...
What the actual hell is going on?
Law firms, universities, media companies, and now banks. If people don’t understand what’s happening to our country, it’s because they don’t want to.
I regret to inform you all that over on the bad place Laura Loomer just figured out that @jbpritzker.bsky.social is a Democrat. Thoughts and prayers.
Governor Pritzker speaking eloquently about facts; and, drawing a line in the sand. ✊🏼
WATCH LIVE: Texas House Democrats speak in Illinois, joined by Governor JB Pritzker, to announce quorum break to stop Republican power grab. www.youtube.com/live/QusI51h...
Pulling up for presser with @jbpritzker.bsky.social and Texas Dem legislators and we were greeted by a great horned owl perching on the building. Seems like a good omen.
Had to explain to someone the other day that cursing at them was a form of affection where I am from.
I shouldn’t be - but I continue to be kind of shocked the degree to which some American businesses and their owners are really misreading the current populist moment and the boiling anger and discontent that’s driving it. It’s like watching someone drive their car into a flooded road.
There is one way through and one way only: stand up for your beliefs, fight back in every way conceivable, don’t back down, be loud about your values and make clear to everyone you won’t be bullied. Anything less is to fail to meet the moment and your responsibility as an American and a human.
This is actually crucial. There must be accountability and we have to mean it.
Colbert is a brilliant comedian, great interviewer & w good person. He has a million places in this new age to take his talents, be widely heard and make $$$. I hope he will.What is beyond rescue is much of the legacy media making decisions that will haunt them & their business for decades to come.
Shout out to the @wsj.com for publishing the Epstein story, even after being threatened with legal action by Trump. Thank you for showing other outlets what it means to stand up to those in power.
What’s funny to me about all this he MAGA’s losing their mind over a woke Superman is that they literally don’t know the history of the Superman comic being used to fight and humiliate the KKK almost a century ago. Like @jamesgunn.bsky.social is literally taking the comic back to its roots.
It’s like no one in the modern GOP was around for the fallout around the Hurricane Katrina response.
“I feel like this is not a moment to walk away. When you’re in the middle of a fight you gotta finish the fight. You gotta stand up, and I have to protect the people of my state the best I can,” Pritzker told Elias. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Everything about what the GOP is doing right now is bad and there will be dire consequences for Americans. And it’s our job for the next year to hang every one of those consequences at the feet of every single GOP elected official with merciless directness and focus.
Let’s be clear about just about bad Trump’s budget bill is - people are going to get hurt and it will be completely and totally the fault of Donald Trump and the congressional GOP.
Christian will serve the state well. So happy to see my dear friend join the administration again as LG!
Amplifying this for all the obvious reasons but also bc @jbpritzker.bsky.social support of LGBTQ people apparently really triggers Texas GOP Congressman Brandon Gill.
Some of us said this four months ago (also I agree with him)
Same spot - 8 years apart. Best decision of my life to move to Chicago and come work for @jbpritzker.bsky.social
My advice to young people in politics? Go work for someone you love and believe in and you will never ever question what you do. Another four years @jbpritzker.bsky.social !
Still just as in love with you as I was the first day I met you, MK. Happy anniversary to the love of my life.
How cruel & heartless & depraved do you have to be to do this? To end something that helps LGBTQ youth from committing suicide? What kind of warts on humanity must your existence be to champion this? We can never ever forget who these people are and treat them exactly as they deserve.
A top staffer to Sen. Tina Smith emailed Sen. Mike Lee’s top staffers on Monday about “how much additional pain you’ve caused on an unspeakably horrific weekend” Full emails below
I think one of the reasons you hear so much visceral anger coming from Dems about politics these days is bc for years now we’ve been expected to respond with dignity and respect (which we do) when political violence touches the GOP. But when it touches us - we get the Mike Lee’s of the world.
"Resistance and protest can’t bring Hortman back, and the No Kings demonstrations won’t end MAGA political violence. But the fact that so many refuse to bend the knee is a vital rebuke to those who think that they can end our democracy with terror." — @nberlat.bsky.social
Asked if he would call the governor of the state where two legislators and their spouses were shot in their homes — as the vice president did yesterday — the president instead says that the governor (who was not involved in the shooting) is “terrible” and “grossly incompetent”:
This is horrifying. I cannot even put words to this.
"So you're admitting that this is just a political circus" is an absolutely incredible way to troll these goons
Pritzker is refusing to let them control the narrative and they have no idea what to do with it when they are finally called out for their hypocrisy
Governor JB Pritzker said to Rep. Mary Miller: "I am not going to be lectured to by somebody who extols the virtue of Hitler." Finally, someone says it to their faces.
Boebert: What we’re seeing in LA is an insurrection Pritzker: You don’t know understand what insurrection is. It is outrageous that you are asking that when you are the one condoning the pardoning of people that attacked police.
I mean we clipped and shared the quote on our social media channels so I want to thank the IL GOP for helping amplify it!
Padilla: If this is how DHS responds to a senator with a question you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California.
I've said it once, and I'll keep saying it as long as I'm governor: If you come for Illinoisans, you have to come through me.
770,000 Illinoisans stand to lose their health care thanks to Donald Trump's newest cruel plan. From cuts to Medicaid to taking away SNAP benefits, he's prioritizing his rich friends over your lives. Now's the time to stand up and speak out against the real threat to Americans.
Under Trump, immigration policy is being treated like a reality TV spectacle. Dr. Phil and Tom Homan don't know how to keep our schools safe.
🚨MAJOR BREAKING: Republicans dragged Gov. Pritzker to Congress to scold him over “sanctuary” policies. Instead, he flipped the script - and TORCHED the Trump administration:
Illinois follows the law — we expect the federal government to follow the law, too. We won't participate in abuses of power. We won't violate court orders. We won't ignore the Constitution. We won't defy the Supreme Court. We won't take away people’s right to peacefully protest.
Gov. Pritzker: “It's wrong to deploy the National Guard and active duty Marines into an American city over the objection of local law enforcement, just to inflame a situation and create a crisis.”
My family owes everything to America's acceptance of a refugee named Nicholas Pritzker on its shores over a century ago. My story, however, is not unique — our state and nation have been strengthened by people from across the globe seeking freedom, opportunity, and refuge here.
Pritzker: "I've seen first-hand how states have had to shoulder the consequences of a broken immigration system." So far comparing his family's refugee story to modern immigrants. "Just like my great-grandfather, they are hard-working, raising families, and paying taxes."
History is written by the people who were brave enough to fight back against injustice and authoritarianism. Leading with bravery is not easy, but it’s necessary. Expect bravery of yourself and others.
100% right. You can pivot after you answer the Q. But if you just say "this is a distraction," people intuit that you're scared and don't want to talk about the Q.
To be in public office right now is to constantly ask yourself: How do I make sure I'm standing on the right side of history? There's a simple answer. The wrong side of history will always tell you to be afraid - the right side of history will always expect you to be brave.
Proud to work for this guy
The “we can’t seat you until your entire party is here” thing has gotten absurd. This isn’t Manhattan on a Saturday night, Carol - I’m trying to each lunch at 2:15 in Lincoln Park and it’s going to take a minute for my friend to park. Let have sense.
I read this article when it came out in. 2023. It was one of the reasons we have been working on PBM and health insurance reform in Illinois with @govpritzker.illinois.gov. I urge everyone to read. It will outrage you as much as it did me.
It’s very possible to exploit the insane Musk/Trump rift, message against the Medicaid/SNAP cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill, & rail against the lawlessness & corruption of the Trump admin all at once. Dems should stop telling people to ignore the news. You can’t stand on the shore & block the tide.
People. Help find Basket!
Today is like watching the Packers play the Cowboys. I just want them both to lose.
Writing something right now that invokes Lincoln and this was really helpful at exactly the right moment. So thank you for blue skying!
No elite bubble is more impenetrable than the one in which elite political professionals applaud each other for uttering banalities like these. Little of this "advice" is actionable for Dems in the real world, no matter how hard this bubble discourse pretends otherwise. Grift factor here is large.
Harvey Milk served his country honorably — first in uniform, then in public office. Taking his name off this Navy ship sends a clear message, and it’s one of disrespect and cruelty.
Our state has come a long way from the days of a 793-day budget crisis. This week, we passed our seventh balanced budget in a row. We’re prioritizing the needs of working families, creating opportunities for everyone, and protecting the lives and livelihoods of our people.
if it takes years, has to be consequences for all these people, and even more for those who gave the orders.
Can’t imagine that’s the answer they practiced.
The tush push.
This snowflake would last 3 days in my job.
I’ve lived through the many campaign cycles that brought Democrats to this point. There are legitimate reasons why we are here. But the reality is we need to break the old mold and bend our tactics and imagination to something new.
2. I completely agree that Trump moves on instinct & that makes him feel more authentic to voters. Dems worry endlessly that everything from a social media post to an unguarded public moment might be bad politically. We are very risk averse at a time when we need to be more willing to take risks.
I agree with this thread. I would make 2 additional points. 1.) Any good pollster would tell you a poll is a snap shot in time. Polls need interpretation. Polls are also less accurate today than they were 10 years ago. Frankly, most political practitioners don’t know how to use and read polls well.
Springfield Session Rabbit
Honestly I would have run this campaign for free. And I would have started with negative ads on the Packers.