Trump: Illinois Gov. Pritzker ‘Should Be in Jail’ After Clash Over National Guard Deployment
President Trump escalated a public feud with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday, saying the Democratic governor “should be in jail” for opposing the federal deployment of National Guard troops to protect immigration agents amid violent protests in Chicago.
The exchange followed Pritzker’s sharp criticism of the troop deployment in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, in which the governor accused the president — without offering evidence — of “suffering dementia” and acting on outdated information. “He’s a man who has something stuck in his head. He can’t get it out of his head,” Pritzker said, arguing Trump “doesn’t read” and is out of touch on the facts driving the administration’s decisions.
Trump fired back on his Truth Social platform early Wednesday, calling for legal consequences for both Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. Pritzker responded on X that she “will not back down” and accused the president of attempting to silence elected officials who challenge federal overreach. Mayor Johnson said he would not be intimidated, claiming past examples of what he called unjustified attempts to target Black officials.
The dispute erupted after roughly 200 Texas National Guard troops arrived in Illinois this week under a federal mission to protect federal personnel and property. The Pentagon said the Guardsmen were mobilized for an initial 60-day period in response to attacks and aggressive tactics directed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. Authorities have made about a dozen arrests near an ICE facility in Broadview following incidents in which federal agents were boxed in by vehicles and one suspect allegedly confronted officers with a weapon.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem earlier announced the deployment of additional federal special operations personnel to the region. In turn, Pritzker and Mayor Johnson filed a lawsuit seeking to block the federal troop mobilization, calling the deployment “illegal, unconstitutional, dangerous and wrong.” The legal fight and the rhetorical sparring underscore a widening federal-state clash over immigration enforcement and the use of military forces on U.S. soil.