CHICAGO (WLS) — At a rally at the University of Illinois Chicago Monday afternoon, Gov. JB Pritzker defended a searing speech he delivered in the key presidential nomination state of New Hampshire.
While it has come under fire, the speech drew big applause from the audience.
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Standing with UIC students rallying against Trump administration higher education policies, Pritzker was back in Illinois Monday after delivering a fiery speech in New Hampshire Sunday, before a key Democratic fundraising group.
“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption, but I am now,” Pritzker said. “These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.”
National and some Illinois Republicans interpreted Pritzker’s harsh words to mean violence against the Trump administration.
On Monday, the governor said that is not what he meant.
“I called for people to take out their megaphones and their microphones, to stand up on the soap boxes and get to the ballot box,” Pritzker said.
But, Pritzker wasn’t just taking aim at Republicans in the New Hampshire speech. When it comes to fighting back against the president’s policies and actions, the governor called some members of his party “do-nothing Democrats.”
“Now that this culture of timidity is on full display, those same do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of Black people, of trans kids, of immigrants, instead of their own lack of guts and gumption,” Pritzker said.
On Monday, Pritzker did not name the do-nothing Democrats.
As he aims to be the Democratic Party’s loudest and most blunt voice against President Donald Trump, the New Hampshire audience ate it up. They cheered loudly for Pritzker several times. It’s exactly what the Democratic base in the first primary state wanted to hear.
“As for presidential aspirations, especially this far out, you need to really get your name out there on a national level. And this played perfectly into that strategy,” ABC7 Chicago political analyst Laura Washington said.
The Pritzker speech made national headlines and even got the ladies on “The View” chatting about the Illinois governor as a possible presidential contender. But, some local Republicans say Pritzker should concentrate on making headlines at home.
“He pokes a lot of fun at Donald Trump, saying that he’s got very low approval ratings, but Brandon Johnson is still hovering around single digits. So, I think there’s a lot of work to be done at home,” Cook County Republican Chair Aaron Del Mar said.
Pritzker was not any closer Monday to making public his future political plans, and he claims he was surprised the New Hampshire speech made national news.
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