Donald Trump and JB Pritzker are recently engaged in a deepening political tying of knives. They have deeply and vitriolically clashed over body mass, troop movement, and administrative style. The drama intensified after Trump’s incendiary comments over the weekend, when the Republican presidential candidate told the Illinois governor to “get in shape.” Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, did not hold back in his rebuttal, stating, “It takes one to know one on the weight question,” alluding to Trump’s own physical condition.
Donald Trump is a big guy, 6 foot 3 and 224 pounds. He has, after all, developed a well-documented love of quick service restaurants. His health became an issue when he finally took his annual physical in April. At the debate stage, Trump had freely and confidently defended his health and fitness. He emphasized that people can see his physicality and that it doesn’t take studies to prove it.
“Everybody standing there knows. We know. You don’t have to be doing any studies. They should be saying, ‘Please, come in.’” – Donald Trump
Pritzker characterized Trump’s personal attacks as immature, saying, “I would say that his personal attacks on me are just evidence of a guy who’s still living in fifth grade.”
Things escalated even further when Pritzker clashed with Trump over the latter’s idea to deploy the National Guard to Chicago. Pritzker deemed such a deployment unnecessary overreach. He firmly stated, “Do not come to Chicago, you are neither wanted here nor needed here.”
Those remarks from the governor follow Trump’s controversial deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington D.C. This one move has unleashed a firestorm of reaction from the public. Now its 2024, and Washington D.C. is still celebrating its lowest overall crime rate in three decades. Yet even Trump went too far in adopting such an authoritarian approach to governance.
In addressing concerns about his leadership style, Trump remarked, “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we’d like a dictator.’ I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator.” This comment seems aimed at turning aside complaints about his response to civil unrest and his general inclination toward using military force.
The exchange between Trump and Pritzker underscores the deepening political divisions within the country. As both leaders continue to publicly spar, their comments reflect not only their personal views but the broader political landscape as they prepare for upcoming elections.