Governor introduces himself to new audiences at New Hampshire fundraiser, virtual town hall while dismissing presidential speculation
By BEN SZALINSKI
Capitol News Illinois
bszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com
President Donald Trump marked the 100th day of his second term on Tuesday as Gov. JB Pritzker has spent the week calling on Americans to pressure congressional Republicans to oppose Trump’s agenda and highlighting how Trump’s policies affect Illinois.
“I’m deeply concerned about what the next 100 days, and frankly, the next 1,000 days will be like,” Pritzker said Tuesday night during a virtual town hall.
Pritzker appeared on the progressive MeidasTouch podcast’s live town hall alongside three other Democratic governors: Kathy Hochul, of New York, Maura Healey, of Massachusetts, and Tim Walz, of Minnesota — the unsuccessful 2024 vice presidential nominee.
Throughout the town hall, the second-term Illinois governor continued calling for Americans to make their voices heard against what he perceives as a destructive Trump administration.
“I believe that we all ought to be mobilizing,” Pritzker told a Florida resident. “It’s the best way for us to get across what we really believe is that, you know, show up at your Republican congressman’s office and let them know: Quit shutting down veteran services, quit taking away Social Security and Medicaid.”
But for Democrats to be successful in future election cycles, the party must deliver results on voters’ priorities, Pritzker said. In addition to explaining a “simple message” about the party’s values to voters, Democrats should also embrace alternative media interviews to reach new voters, he said, pointing to a string of podcasts Walz appeared on during last year’s vice-presidential campaign.
“He was everywhere,” Pritzker said. “We’ve got to do that, all of us, and make sure that the Democratic message of standing up for working families is heard everywhere and directly to people who are online.”
Pritzker’s live podcast appearance Tuesday came two days after he delivered blistering criticism of unnamed people in his party for using podcasts and media interviews to chastise other Democrats.
“What I find ironic about the current conversation surrounding our party is that the voices flocking to podcasts and cable news shows to admonish fellow Democrats for not caring enough about the struggles of working families are the same ones who, when it comes to relieving the struggles of real people, have been timid, not bold,” Pritzker told a fundraiser for the New Hampshire Democratic Party on Sunday.
Read more: Pritzker balances messaging as some Dems encourage party to avoid LGBTQ issues
New Hampshire has typically held the first presidential primary election, usually following the Iowa caucus.
Pritzker, who also appeared Monday on MSNBC, has been working himself into the national spotlight for months since Trump took over the White House in January. Appearances on trendy podcasts and prime time cable TV shows have become a regular part of the governor’s schedule.
Pritzker received national attention after he warned of similarities between Nazi Germany and the Trump administration in his February State of the State address. His remarks in New Hampshire on Sunday drew more attention as headlines in publications including The New York Times declared the speech “stokes 2028 talks.”
Pritzker downplayed any links between the speech and his personal ambitions, saying he’s only trying to send a message to the party about what the platform for 2026 should be while defending Illinois against the Trump administration’s policies.
“I was surprised that so many people covered that,” Pritzker told reporters in Chicago on Monday.
The speech also struck a nerve with Republicans as Pritzker suggested Democrats “will never join so many Republicans in the special place in hell reserved for quislings and cowards.”
“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption,” Pritzker said Sunday. “But I am now. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They must understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soap box and then punish them at the ballot box.”
Pritzker first called on Democrats to become “street fighters” and engage in mass protest at a Human Rights Campaign dinner in March in Los Angelas.
The Illinois Republican Party cried foul in a news release titled “Pritzker calls for violence against Republicans.”
“His comments if nothing else could be construed as inciting violence,” Trump deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said.
Pritzker scoffed at Miller’s criticism, saying he didn’t listen to the speech.
“Peaceful protest is what I’m talking about. It’s about standing up, speaking out,” Pritzker told reporters. “Again, using your megaphone, your microphone, whatever you’ve got. And the peace that I’m talking about is making sure that they know at all times that the American public opposes the policies of Congressional Republicans and of the White House.”
Outside public appearances this week, Pritzker’s political organization also announced it was beginning a new video series highlighting Illinoisians who have been hurt by cuts to the federal government under Trump. And to mark Trump’s 100th day in office, the governor’s office released a list of 100 ways “Trump and Republicans are hurting Illinois.”
Responding to a Chicago voter’s concerns about affordable housing during Tuesday night’s town hall, Pritzker rattled off legislation and state spending increases approved under his administration as a way he’s trying to help. But he also argued it’s ultimately going to be challenging to address such concerns with Trump as president.
“Donald Trump is making everything harder,” Pritzker said. “Housing, rent, being able to borrow money to buy your first home, or any home, and that’s something that we’re all going to have to live with until we’re able to overturn the Congress.”
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Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
