Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he isn’t running scared from President Donald Trump’s threats to have him arrested — instead he welcomes them.
“Let’s start with the fact that this is a convicted felon. Think about that. Who is threatening to jail me?” Pritzker told MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff on Wednesday, just hours after Trump called for his and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s jailing. “This guy is unhinged. He’s insecure. He’s a wannabe dictator.”
He continued: “There’s one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump: If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.”
Soboroff then asked whether Pritzker thought Trump would actually follow through with the arrest while pointing out that Trump had made a similar threat against California Gov. Gavin Newsom yet he remains “walking free on the streets.”
“Well, you know the expression: Trump Always Chickens Out,” Pritzker said. “We’ve done nothing here, and very importantly, it’s Donald Trump that is breaching the constitution, breaking the law.”
“The federal government is not communicating with our state,” he added. “It’s unconscionable. This has never happened before. […] I think it’s important to recognize that the Trump administration does not recognize any laws in the United States. They’ll keep doing it unless somebody stops them. In Illinois we’re stopping them.
Johnson also clapped back at Trump’s threats during an appearance on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” The Chicago mayor said, “It’s certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has called for the arresting of a Black man, unjustly.”
Their remarks come after Trump took to Truth Social and stated that both politicians should be in jail amid the government’s deployment of the National Guard in Chicago.
“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump said in a post on Wednesday.
You can watch Pritzker’s comments in the clip above.
