JB Pritzker rips Trump as ‘authoritarian,’ responds to president calling out his weight
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., a possible 2028 White House candidate, took aim at President Donald Trump on Thursday in a late-night appearance, calling him an “authoritarian” leader and mocking his weight.
Pritzker made the comments during an interview on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Egged on by the anti-Trump late-night host, the governor argued Trump was a major threat to the American people.
“I think everybody understands that, at this point, we’ve got an authoritarian in office. He’s essentially tearing apart the things that really matter to working families across the United States, and nobody’s stopping him,” he told Kimmel.
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Kimmel brought up Pritzker’s recent speech in New Hampshire, during which he called on the Democratic Party to do more to stand up to the Trump agenda and urged his party to engage in “mass protests.”
“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now,” he said in his speech. “These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.”
Due to New Hampshire’s influence historically as the nation’s first primary in presidential years, politicians visiting the state stoke speculation that they have national ambitions. Pritzker is also a billionaire scion of the wealthy Pritzker family and has been an influential Democratic donor for decades.
Pritzker has shut down speculation he’s running for president in interviews and said he’s focused on the 2026 midterms, but it’s common for politicians to play coy on future White House plans. He also could still seek a third term as Illinois governor in 2026.
Kimmel invited Pritzker to elaborate on his speech, which Pritzker claimed was a response to the president not being held accountable by members of his own party.
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“Congress is under the control of his party. They’re all paying homage to him at all times. No one’s willing to break with him, even though they’re taking away health care from millions of people across the United States and threatening Social Security,” he said.
“So I guess, you know, the question is, what can you do in that circumstance?” the governor continued, adding, “And the only thing, in my view, that we really can do on a national level is let them know about our displeasure… We’ve got to be out there loud, proud, stand up, speak out.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the host played a portion of a 2024 Trump campaign rally during which the then-GOP candidate poked fun at Pritzker’s weight.
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Pritzker shot back at Trump, telling Kimmel, “He loves to make fun of people in any way he can. Frankly, that’s how you know he’s afraid of you… He has convinced himself that he is way better looking and thinner than he really is.”
