Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has retaliated after US President Donald Trump mocked his weight, telling the president that “it takes one to know one” as tensions escalate over the possible deployment of the National Guard to Chicago.
Trump said on Monday that Pritzker “ought to spend more time in the gym” and, during his 2024 campaign, remarked that the governor was “too busy eating” to lead Illinois. Pritzker responded forcefully, telling reporters that Trump himself is “not in good shape” and should “respond to that from me.” The governor added that Trump’s personal attacks are “evidence of a guy who’s still living in fifth grade.”
The exchange comes as Trump considers federalising the National Guard to combat what he describes as a crime wave in Chicago, despite opposition from local leaders. Pritzker stated, “Do not come to Chicago, you are neither wanted here nor needed here,” and called any unilateral deployment a “dangerous power-grab.”
Trump has previously deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington DC. While the White House cites Chicago’s 573 murders in 2024 as proof of a severe crime problem, that figure is the lowest since 2019, and crime is down so far this year. Pritzker dismissed Trump’s rhetoric, accusing him of wanting to “occupy a US city to punish its dissidents and score political points.”
