As he eyes a possible 2028 presidential run, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) has been busy trying to portray himself as a Resistance leader against President Donald Trump.
For instance, he vowed almost immediately after Trump was reelected to fight him every step of the way and has repeatedly tried to defend the state's so-called right not to cooperate with the Trump administration on illegal immigration matters. The latter is something Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) outright schooled him on during a House Oversight Committee hearing in June, leaving Pritzker speechless in the process.
More recently, Pritzker held a press conference in Chicago alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson, expressing strong opposition to Trump announcing the city was on the list for some National Guard-assisted help in battling crime, while gaslighting residents on how "safe" Chicago supposedly was.
READ MORE: JB Pritzker Does Himself No Favors With Reaction to Brandon Johnson's Anti-Trump Meltdown
As we reported, Trump hit Pritzker right where it hurts in response to his declaration that Chicago wanted him to stay out of their city, zinging him in a Truth Social post on Thursday by writing:
"Governor Pritzker had 6 murders in Chicago this weekend. 20 people were shot. But he doesn’t want to ask me for help. Can this be possible? The people are desperate for me to STOP THE CRIME, something the Democrats aren’t capable of doing."
It's a point Trump reiterated over the Labor Day holiday weekend, while urging Pritzker to clean things up quickly, or that the Trump administration would respond accordingly:
Six people were killed, and 24 people were shot, in Chicago last weekend, and JB Pritzker, the weak and pathetic Governor of Illinois, just said that he doesn’t need help in preventing CRIME. He is CRAZY!!! He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming! MAGA. President DJT
Pritzker's reply was perhaps most notable for what he didn't say, which we'll get to in a minute:
Why don’t you send everyone proof of life first?
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) August 31, 2025
(Either way, Chicago doesn’t want you here) pic.twitter.com/1hdPA6NENJ
Notice something? He didn't deny that Trump was right, that Chicago had experienced a particularly violent weekend in the days preceding Pritzker's "Chicago is safe, stay away from here, Trump" (paraphrasing) pushback. I wasn't the only one who noticed, either:
A tweet where the mask slips. You know who can’t send proof of life? The six people killed in Chicago. Crime is a real problem. You can argue process and authority over the city, but people read this stuff and think, dude doesn’t care people are shot and killed in his state. https://t.co/DszGRB11XN
— Bobby Trivett (@btrivett07) August 31, 2025
Further, it's pretty sick that Pritzker was pushing the debunked, Lincoln Project-fueled phony rumor that Trump was dead, considering the POTUS faced two assassination attempts in 2024 as the GOP presidential nominee.
Like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), everything Pritzker is doing at this point is designed to raise his national profile on the taxpayers' dime. I'd recommend that both of them stay classy, but that ship sailed for them long ago.
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