Trump says JB Pritzker should be ‘in jail’ for not protecting ICE in Chicago
President Trump said early Wednesday that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail” for trying to stop the National Guard from restoring order in Chicago — soon after the lefty leader made disturbing, unfounded allegations about the president’s mental status.
Pritzker first ramped up the war of words late Tuesday in a phone interview with the Chicago Tribune, blasting the arrival of troops to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from attack in protests across the Windy City.
“This is a man who’s suffering dementia,” the governor — widely tipped as a potential Democratic presidential candidate — said of Trump, with no effort to back up the disturbing comment.
“This is a man who has something stuck in his head. He can’t get it out of his head. He doesn’t read. He doesn’t know anything that’s up to date. It’s just something in the recesses of his brain that is effectuating to have him call out these cities,” Pritzker said, referring to Chicago as well as Portland, Oregon.
Trump fired back early Wednesday against both the governor and Chicago’s progressive mayor, Brandon Johnson.
“Chicago Mayor [should be in jail for failing to protect ICE officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Pritzker and Johnson were quick to fire back, with the governor saying on X: “I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?”
“This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested,” chimed in Johnson. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Trump’s remark came after Texas National Guard troops arrived in Illinois on Tuesday to protect federal personnel and property amid ongoing anti-ICE protests.
Some 200 Guardsmen were mobilized to the city for an initial 60-day period, a Pentagon official said.
Troops arrived in Illinois “in support of the Federal Protection Mission to protect federal functions, personnel, and property,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
So far, around a dozen arrests have been made near an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced Saturday that additional special ops personnel would be deployed to Illinois after federal agents were rammed and boxed in by 10 cars.
In response, Pritzker and Johnson filed a lawsuit on Monday to block the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago and surrounding cities.
Johnson also branded the deployment “illegal, unconstitutional, dangerous and wrong” on Tuesday.