JB Pritzker warns of extreme step Trump could take now to distract from Epstein fallout

WASHINGTON (AP) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says he is concerned about how President Donald Trump might respond to the growing controversy over documents linking him to Jeffrey Epstein.

“My big fear, of course, is that with the release of that information, which I think will be devastating for Trump, he will do everything in his power to distract,” Pritzker told The News in a wide-ranging interview Wednesday. “What does that mean? I mean, it could lead us to war with Venezuela just to distract us from the news and get it out of the headlines.”

Pritzker, widely considered a potential leading Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, also directed some of his harshest criticism at members of his own party. He said the decision by seven Democratic senators and one independent to side with Republicans in a Senate vote to end the government shutdown was a “huge mistake” that played into Trump’s hands.

via News

“I’ve been fighting as a team from the beginning,” Pritzker said. “And I don’t appreciate when we have Democrats who are caving in and basically doing what the Trump administration wants.”

Pritzker did not join calls for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to step aside, coming from some Democrats who think he should have fought harder. “I’m not sure this is the only thing people should focus on to get over the edge,” the governor said.

Instead, he was more critical of the group of Democratic senators who voted for the deal, including Sen. Dick Durbin, his own state’s senior senator.

“We were winning,” Pritzker said, pointing to resounding Democratic victories in elections across the country last week. “I don’t understand why people gave in when we were on the verge of making real change.”

Since Trump’s re-election, Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, has been among the president’s fiercest Democratic critics.

On Wednesday, he described Trump as “a narcissist” and said he believed the president “has dementia.”

Pritzker’s comments about Trump’s use of diversionary politics came as newly released documents reignited scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with Epstein. In a 2019 email to a reporter, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” but what he knew, and whether he was referring to the sex offender’s crimes, is unclear. The White House accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the president.

But few governors have witnessed Trump’s use of force as directly as Pritzker, who has seen federal agents descend on Chicago and its suburbs in recent months as part of “Operation Midway Blitz.” More than 3,300 people suspected of immigration violations have been arrested since September, with some raids involving helicopters, tear gas and nighttime operations.

“This is part of the militarization of our American cities that Donald Trump is engaging in,” Pritzker said. “And it’s dangerous. It shouldn’t happen, but he has a purpose behind it. And that’s to affect our elections in 2026.”

Pritzker said the massive immigration crackdown seen in Chicago would soon expand to other states, and said he had recently spoken with North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein after reports that the administration could send federal forces to Charlotte.

“I hope the reaction eventually leads them to redouble their efforts,” Pritzker said.