Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker fired back fiercely after former President Donald Trump declared that he and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson “should be in jail.” The remarks came in the wake of a heated clash between federal immigration agents and protesters outside an ICE facility near Chicago — an event that quickly became a national flashpoint.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Pritzker didn’t hold back. The Democratic governor, viewed by many as a potential contender for the 2028 presidential race, accused the Trump administration of “peddling falsehoods” and “abusing its power.”
“You just heard a flood of lies from the vice president,” Pritzker said, responding to comments made earlier by Vice President J.D. Vance. “This administration attacks truth and integrity every single day. They lie, they intimidate, and they call it leadership.”
Turning to Trump’s legal troubles, Pritzker said, “Here is a man convicted 34 times threatening to jail his political opponents. That isn’t democracy — it’s authoritarianism, plain and simple.”
Trump’s post last week claimed that Pritzker and Johnson failed to safeguard ICE agents during the Broadview protest. Officials reported that federal agents were surrounded by demonstrators before a suspect was taken into custody following an exchange of gunfire. Dispatch records suggested local police were told to “stand down,” a claim city officials are still investigating.
