Trump singles out Gov. Pritzker while taking aim at Chicago crime, no-cash bail

President Donald Trump says Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is incompetent, that he may send the National Guard into Chicago and will work to reverse the end of cash bail.

In announcing federal law enforcement actions in Washington D.C. on Monday, Trump said he may send the National Guard to keep the peace in places with heavy crime.

“And if we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster,” Trump said. “We have a mayor there who's totally incompetent. He's an incompetent man. And we have an incompetent governor. That Pritzker's an incompetent. His family threw him out of the business, and he ran for governor.”

Trump even went as far as adding to speculation that Pritzker is running for president in 2028.

“And now I understand he wants to be president, but I noticed he lost a little weight, so maybe he has a chance,” Trump said. “You know, you never know what happens. But Pritzker is a gross, incompetent guy, thrown out of the family business.”

Later in the day Monday, Pritzker said Trump has no right or legal ability to send troops into the city of Chicago.

“As to everything else that he had to say this morning, I guess I should say thank you for the compliment," Pritzker said at an unrelated event.

Pritzker said Trump is a cheater, a convicted felon and has declared bankruptcy several times. As to his political future, Pritzker said the only decisions he’s made is to run for a third term as governor.

Trump also said he’s got more he is taking aim at across the country concerning public safety, including ending no-cash bail.

“That's what started it in Chicago. I mean, bad politicians started and bad leadership started it. But that was the one thing that's central. No cash bail,” Trump said. “Somebody murders somebody and they're out on no cash bail before the day is out. We're going to end that in Chicago. We're going to change the statute.”

Illinois ended cash bail statewide in 2023, being the first state to do so.

The Network for Pretrial Justice said in a statement Monday that Trump’s policies hurt poor people and people of color, and that dangerous people are not flooding the streets. They argue violent crime has decreased since the start of no-cash bail.

“Illinois is showing the country a way out of the policies of mass incarceration that have failed to keep our communities safe,” the group said in a statement. “We will not be bullied by a president who is more concerned with his public image than he is public safety. The Pretrial Fairness Act is working, and Illinois is safer because of it.”