Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker goaded President Donald Trump over the president’s call to imprison the Democratic politician, daring him to “come and get me.”
In the latest instance of his brazen demands for political opponents to be pursued, Trump on Wednesday wrote on his Truth Social platform that Pritzker and Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, “should be in jail.”
Trump claimed the pair were “failing to protect” immigration agents amid an aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigrants in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city.
The threat came as troops that Trump federalized from the National Guard in Texas settled at an Illinois military base, despite a lawsuit and resistance from Democratic elected leaders.
Speaking to MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff in Chicago, Pritzker was asked to respond to the president’s call for him to be jailed.
“I got to say — this guy’s unhinged, he’s insecure. He’s a wannabe dictator,” Pritzker said of the president.
“There’s one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump,” Pritzker continued, before looking directly at the camera. “If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.” (Watch the response at the end of the story.)
Pritzker has accused the Trump administration of turning Chicago into a “war zone” by flooding the city with federal agents.
Immigration officials have reacted violently to protests across the city. Flashpoints have included throwing a congressional candidate on the ground, shooting a Chicagoan in at least two separate incidents, and using tear gas and pepper spray against protesters and civilians.
Trump’s threat to Pritzker and Johnson comes as the president targets Chicago as one of a growing number of U.S. cities where he wants to put troops on the ground.
Also on Wednesday, former FBI Director and long-time Trump nemesis James Comey pleaded not guilty on charges of lying to Congress after the president publicly put pressure on Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after his political enemies.