Normal view

Before yesterdayMain stream

Pritzker trolls Trump by 'renaming' Lake Michigan as 'Lake Illinois,' joking he'd annex Green Bay

8 February 2025 at 11:43

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has taken a satirical jab at President Donald Trump’s effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico and annex Greenland. 

A straight-faced Pritzker released a choreographed video on Friday, with fake camera shutter clicks going off in the background, where he asserts that he is renaming Lake Michigan to "Lake Illinois," poking fun at Trump’s recent executive order where he changed the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.

PRITZKER BASHES TRUMP ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: 'WE WILL NOT FOLLOW AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL ORDER'

"The world's finest geographers, experts who study the Earth's natural environment, have concluded a decades-long council and determined that a great lake deserves to be named after a great state," Pritzker said. 

"So today, I'm issuing a proclamation declaring that hereinafter, Lake Michigan shall be known as Lake Illinois. The proclamation has been forwarded to Google to ensure the world's maps reflect this momentous change."

Trump signed Executive Order 14172 on his first day back in office which changed the name of the ocean basin. The order also renamed the highest peak in North America to "Mount McKinley," reversing the 2015 decision to call it by its centuries-old name Denali.

Google has said it will make Trump’s changes once the Department of the Interior updates the Geographic Names Information System. As of today, Google Maps still refers to it as the Gulf of Mexico.

In the video, Pritzker then switches his attention to Green Bay, a Wisconsin city near Lake Michigan. And just like how Trump vowed to take over Greenland from Denmark, Pritzker pledged to snap up Green Bay from The Badger State.  

"In addition, the recent announcement that to protect the homeland, the United States will be purchasing Greenland... Illinois will now be annexing Green Bay to protect itself against enemies, foreign and domestic," Pritzker said. 

TRUDEAU SAYS TRUMP IS SERIOUS ABOUT CANADA BECOMING 51ST STATE: REPORTS

"I've also instructed my team to work diligently to prepare for an important announcement next week regarding the Mississippi River."

"God bless America and bear down," Pritzker said, a nod to Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers, one of Chicago Bears' biggest rivals.

The video comes on the heels of a Justice Department lawsuit filed against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago for allegedly interfering with federal immigration enforcement with its sanctuary polices.

The lawsuit claims that several state and local laws are designed to interfere with the federal government's enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.

Pritzker and Trump have also clashed over Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, with Pritzker declaring the move unconstitutional. 

Trump's order, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," asserts that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution does not automatically confer American citizenship to individuals who are born within the United States

They also feuded during Trump’s first term in office when Pritzker claimed the state only recovered a quarter of its requested personal protective equipment from the federal government.

'Unfit to lead': Blue state governor lashes out at Trump for targeting DEI policies after DC plane crash

31 January 2025 at 17:15

Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker accused President Donald Trump of being too incompetent to lead the country because he suggested the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) prioritization of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) played a role in the tragic Washington, D.C., aircraft collision on Wednesday.

"We face the unfortunate reality that we must be honest with the nation about: Donald Trump is unfit to lead during moments of crisis like this," Pritzker said in a statement Thursday night. 

The blue state governor, whom Trump evoked on the campaign trail as an example of the downfall of Democrat-run states, urged the Trump administration to respond to the American Airlines crash with "information and facts to instill confidence in our nation’s aviation safety."

"Before victims have even been identified, Trump is blaming people with disabilities," Pritzker said, referring to FAA DEI hiring practices. "He’s blaming the U.S. service members in the Blackhawk helicopter. He’s blaming hiring programs he can’t even name or offer examples of. The buck stops with him — yet he is failing to demonstrate his role as protector of the American people and head of our government."

TRUMP ATTACKS DEI POLICIES AFTER DC PLANE CRASH, SAYS FAA EMPLOYEES MUST BE HELD TO 'HIGHEST STANDARDS'

The second-term governor is among the long list of Democrats considering a 2028 presidential run. Pritzker has seized opportunities over the past two weeks to play a leadership role in Democrat opposition to Trump, refusing, for example, to follow Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. 

PRITZKER BASHES TRUMP ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: 'WE WILL NOT FOLLOW AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL ORDER'

Pritzker’s comments Thursday were the latest in a long-standing feud between the two. 

"Sloppy J.B. Pritzker… has presided over the destruction and disintegration of Illinois at levels never seen before in any State," Trump wrote on Truth Social in June. "Crime is rampant and people are, sadly, fleeing Illinois. Unless a change is made at the Governor’s level, Illinois can never be Great Again!"

Trump’s attacks have veered into the ad hominem, labeling Pritzker a "rotund Governor from the once great State of Illinois, who makes Chris Christie look like a male model."

In his statement, Pritzker demanded the Trump administration answer his "critical questions," including why the control tower was not fully staffed during the crash; why the Trump administration fired members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee; whether the president now understands fully staffing federal agencies is a "matter of life and death"; and whether he plans to reverse federal workforce cuts. 

Pritzker questioned whether Elon Musk played a role in the removal of the former FAA director; why a replacement for FAA director was not named until after the crash; whether the federal government authorized the Blackhawk helicopter to fly on a commercial flight path; and if the government will continue allowing helicopters to fly at the same altitude as commercial planes.

"Will the President, Vice President, Defense Secretary, and Transportation Secretary cooperate with the independent NTSB investigation and correct any misinformation they spread about the crash?" Pritzker demanded to know.

Trump on Thursday listed headlines about Biden-era FAA DEI hiring that he suggested weakened the agency.

"Here's one," Trump said in the White House briefing room. "The FAA's diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing. And then it says the FAA says people with severe disabilities, the most underrepresented segment of the workforce, and they want them in. They can be air traffic controllers. I don't think so."

"This was on January 14th, so that was a week before I entered office," Trump said, seeking to push blame onto the Biden administration. "They put a big push to put diversity into the FAA's program."

Trump then expanded his list of conditions allowed among controllers: "Hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability, and dwarfism."

The president drew a stark contrast between Democratic policies and his own first-week executive orders that halted DEI programs in the federal government and restored "the highest standards of air traffic controllers."

"Brilliant people have to be in those positions," he stated.

When asked how he came to the conclusion that diversity had something to do with the crash, the president said, "Because I have common sense."

Pritzker is not the only potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender who took issue with Trump’s comments. After Trump called former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg a "disaster," Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic primary candidate, called Trump’s comments "despicable."

"As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," he wrote on X. "We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch. President Trump now oversees the military and the FAA. One of his first acts was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe."

Pritzker bashes Trump order on birthright citizenship: 'We will not follow an unconstitutional order'

21 January 2025 at 10:01

Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker bashed President Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.

"That’s unconstitutional. We will not follow an unconstitutional order," Pritzker told reporters on Monday while speaking at an unrelated event, Politico reported.

Trump's order, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," asserts that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution does not automatically confer American citizenship to individuals who are born within the United States. 

The amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER ENDING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Some legal experts have said that such a move is a constitutional change and cannot be made by executive order. The move will almost certainly face a challenge in court from civil rights groups and immigration activists.

Trump advisers and some conservative legal scholars have previously argued that the idea of giving birthright citizenship to children of illegal immigrants is based on a misreading of the amendment.

TRUMP TARGETS CULTURE WAR LIGHTNING RODS IN EARLY SLATE OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS

The Democratic governor also took several swings at Trump as the 47th president unleashed a flurry of executive actions intended to make good on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, end federal DEI programs and more. Pritzker, who is known to harbor presidential ambitions, said the rapid fire executive actions from Trump were not communicated to state governors ahead of time.

"They have not communicated with us. I’m reading the same thing you are," he said. "This is indicative of what you're going to see of the Trump administration for the next four years. It’s chaos."

2028 WATCH: HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY JUMP INTO THE NEXT WHITE HOUSE RACE

He also echoed concerns former President Biden raised in his farewell address of an oligarchy of ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs who have cozied up to Trump. Silicon Valley titans Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were high-profile attendees at Trump's inauguration.

"He’s got the oligarchs sitting on the front row of his inauguration. It shows who he cares about. It’s the wealthiest people in America who are cow-towing to him and not ordinary Americans. He does not care about ordinary Americans," said Pritzker, who himself is a billionaire member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt hotel chain.

Pritzker claimed his biggest problem with the new administration is "the intent to attack people’s rights. That is something we will have to put up with or deal with every single day of this administration."

2028 Watch: Here are the Democrats who may eventually jump into the next White House race

30 December 2024 at 03:00

As Democrats aim to rebound following stunning setbacks in the 2024 elections, the race for Democratic National Committee chair is very publicly heating up.

Getting less attention, but also starting to quietly commence, are moves by Democratic politicians who may have national ambitions in the next White House race.

And while 2028 may seem like a long way away, recent history shows that the early moves in the next White House race start, well, very early.

The unofficial starting gun for the 2024 race was fired by then-former President Donald Trump less than two months after leaving the White House, with a CPAC speech that teased his eventual 2024 presidential campaign.

BUTTIGIEG FUELS 2028 SPECULATION BY DOING THIS

A few weeks later, the first visits to the key early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire by potential GOP presidential contenders were also underway.

Fast-forward four years, and expect similar actions by Democratic politicians who may harbor national ambitions. With the soon-to-be 82-year-old President Biden exiting the national stage, and Vice President Kamala Harris, in the wake of her defeat by Trump, in no immediate rush to decide her political future, the road to the 2028 nomination may be wide open.

VANCE IN ‘CATBIRD SEAT,' BUT HERE ARE THE OTHER REPUBLICANS WHO MAY ALSO RUN IN 2028 

"The jockeying for 2028 took a brief pause when Harris became the nominee and looked to be in a strong position, which would have meant shutting out potential candidates for the next four to eight years. Now, though, it’s wide open, and it won’t be long before we see clear maneuvering from a litany of candidates," seasoned Democratic political strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News.

Moyer, a veteran of a handful of presidential campaigns, noted that "this will include travel to states like New Hampshire and South Carolina and Nevada, presumably under the auspices of helping candidates in the midterms. Democratic voters in the early states will soon want to find someone they can get excited about and a future to look forward to in the midst of the misery of another four years of Trump in the White House. These potential candidates will be more than happy to oblige."

The results of the 2026 midterm elections will have a major impact on the shape of the next White House race.

For now, however, here is an initial look at Democratic Party politicians considered to be potential 2028 presidential contenders.

Vice President Kamala Harris

As the 60-year-old Harris finishes up her final weeks as the nation's vice president, early polling in the 2028 Democratic nomination race indicates that she would be a front-runner, thanks in part to her name recognition within her party.

While any decisions on her next political steps are months away, sources in the vice president's orbit confirm to Fox News that top aides are divided on whether Harris should run again for the White House in 2028, or instead launch a 2026 gubernatorial campaign in her home state of California, which would likely prevent her from seeking the presidency two years later.

While there are plenty of voices within the party who would like to move on from the Biden/Harris era following Trump's sweeping victory, and there is little history of Democrats yearning for past defeated presidential nominees, Trump has re-written the rules when it comes to defeated White House contenders making another run. 

And potential buyers' remorse of a second Trump administration could boost Harris in the years to come.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a top surrogate for President Biden during the president's re-election bid. With the blessing of the White House, the two-term California governor debated then-Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year on Fox News. 

Newsom's travels on behalf of Biden brought him to New Hampshire and South Carolina, two crucial early voting states on the Democratic Party's nominating calendar.

After the vice president, his friend and fellow Californian, replaced Biden atop the Democrats' 2024 ticket, the governor continued — after a pause — his efforts to keep Trump from returning to the White House.

With Trump's election victory last week, Newsom became one of the Democratic Party leaders getting ready to lead the opposition. The governor announced that California state lawmakers would meet to quickly take legislative action to counter Trump's likely upcoming agenda.

The 57-year-old Newsom, who is term-limited, completes his duties in Sacramento at the end of next year, right around the time the 2028 presidential election will start to heat up.

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois

Illinois Gov JB Pritzker, similar to Newsom, is already taking steps to Trump-proof his state.

"You come for my people, you come through me," Pritzker told reporters of his efforts to protect Illinois.

Pritzker was also a high-profile surrogate on behalf of Biden and then Harris during the 2024 cycle. Those efforts brought Pritzker to Nevada, a general election battleground state and an early-voting Democratic presidential primary state, and New Hampshire.

However, before he makes any decision about 2028, the 59-year-old governor must decide whether he will run in 2026 for a third term steering Illinois.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan

Two-term Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer grabbed plenty of attention and became a Democratic Party rising star in 2020 when she feuded with then-President Trump over COVID pandemic federal assistance and survived a foiled kidnapping attempt.

Trump, at the time, called her "that woman from Michigan."

Along with Newsom and Pritzker, Whitmer's name was floated as a possible replacement for Biden following his disastrous debate performance against Trump in late June, before the president endorsed Harris and the party instantly coalesced around the vice president.

Whitmer was a leading surrogate for Biden and then for Harris and made a big impression on Democratic activists during a stop this summer in New Hampshire on behalf of Harris.

The governor is term-limited and will leave office after the end of next year.

Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania

Gov. Josh Shapiro, the 51-year-old first-term governor of Pennsylvania, was on Harris' short-list for vice presidential nominee.

Even though the vice president named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Shapiro remained a top surrogate on behalf of his party's 2024 national ticket. 

However, his two-day swing in New Hampshire during the final full week ahead of Election Day did raise some eyebrows and 2028 speculation.

After Harris lost battleground Pennsylvania to Trump, there was plenty of talk within the party that Harris had made the wrong choice for her running mate.

Shapiro, who has a track record of taking on the first Trump administration as Pennsylvania attorney general, is expected to play a similar role with the former president returning to the White House.

The governor will be up for re-election in 2026.

Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is considered by many to be another Democratic Party rising star.

The 46-year-old Army veteran, Rhodes Scholar and CEO of the charitable organization the Robin Hood Foundation during the coronavirus pandemic was elected two years ago.

Moore will be up for re-election in 2026.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who surpassed expectations during his 2020 Democratic presidential nomination run, was a very active surrogate on behalf of Biden and later Harris, during the 2024 cycle.

He helped raise a lot of money for the Democratic Party ticket, including heading a top-dollar fundraiser in New Hampshire.

The 42-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and former naval officer who served in the war in Afghanistan, is considered one of the party's biggest and brightest stars. He was known as a top communicator for the administration, including making frequent appearances on Fox News.

Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky

The 46-year-old Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who was elected governor in 2019 and then re-elected in 2023 in red-state Kentucky, was also on Harris' larger list for running mate.

Beshear made plenty of new friends and contacts as he ventured to New Hampshire last month to headline the state Democratic Party's annual fall fundraising gala.

Beshear served as Kentucky's attorney general before running for governor.

Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, 55, will likely be a major player in Washington as the Democratic minority in the Senate fights back against the second Trump administration.

Warnock, who won Senate elections in 2020 and 2022 in battleground Georgia, served as senior pastor at the famed Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.

He is up for re-election in the Senate in 2028.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, is considered one of the party's most talented orators.

Thanks to his 2020 run, Booker made plenty of friends and allies in such early states as New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The senator is up for re-election in 2026.

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut

Since the November election, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut has been very vocal about the steps Democrats need to make to win back working-class voters.

First elected to the House in 2006 and to the Senate in 2012, Murphy cruised to re-election this year by nearly 20 points, which means he won't have to decide between a re-election bid and a White House run in 2028.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California

Rep. Ro Khanna, 48, was a tireless surrogate on behalf of Biden and then Harris. 

He has been a regular visitor to New Hampshire in the past couple of years, including a high-profile debate last year against then-GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York

The progressive rock star and best-known lawmaker among the so-called Squad of diverse House Democrats in October turned 35, the minimum age to run for president.

Some Democrats argue that a riveting messenger with star power is needed as the party's next nominee, and Ocasio-Cortez is guaranteed to grab plenty of attention if she ultimately decides to run.

Mark Cuban

Another potential contender with plenty of star power is Mark Cuban.

The billionaire business mogul and part-owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks’ was a high-profile surrogate for Harris during her presidential election campaign.

Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, 67, who is finishing up his eighth and final year as governor, took his name out of the Harris running mate speculation early in the process this summer.

Cooper served 16 years as North Carolina's attorney general before winning election as governor.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, 65, is halfway through her second term steering New Mexico.

The governor, a former member of Congress, was a high-profile and busy surrogate on behalf of Harris during the final weeks of the 2024 campaign.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

The 60-year-old Minnesota governor, who served as Harris' running mate, has two years remaining in his second term in office.

While the vice presidential nominee's energy and enthusiasm on the campaign trail this year impressed plenty of Democratic strategists, the final results of the election will make any potential future national run for Walz difficult.

Two other names keep coming up — Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey and former Chicago mayor, former congressman, former White House chief of staff and current ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel.

❌
❌