From the government shutdown to immigration enforcement, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has leveled increased criticism of President Donald Trump. However, some have said he’s gone too far with his language.

It’s no secret Pritzker is eyeing the 2028 White House race, so his words are carefully analyzed.
At the same time, so are Trump’s, and Chicago is often one of the president’s targets.

With the immigration raids in Chicago, Trump, in an interview on “60 Minutes,” was asked about the tear gas and federal agents tackling Chicagoans – and whether they had gone too far.

“No, I don’t think they’ve gone far enough, because we have been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,” he said.

“You’re okay with those tactics?” asked Norah O’Donnell of “60 Minutes.”

“Yeah, because you have to get the people out,” Trump said.

On Monday, Pritzker responded to Trump, saying the president might send troops to American cities.

“Using the military to advance into American cities for whatever purpose Donald Trump has…I would suggest to you they are nefarious purposes; they have to do with the 2026 elections and not to do with crime, not to do with immigration,” he said.

Pritzker also responded to criticism for his language — using the f-word when he spoke to the Illinois Federation of Teachers in October.

“I’m sorry to be vulgar, but Donald Trump and his cronies can f—- all the way off,” he said during the speech.

Speaking to NBC Chicago Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern, Pritzker offered an explanation.

“It was a feeling I had in that moment and frankly I don’t.. I think.. all the limits are off with Donald Trump as president in terms of what our reactions are to what he has to say,” the governor stated. “He uses that word.”

“So when they go low, you go lower?” Ahern asked.

“No, in that moment, Mary Ann, in that moment I really was feeling like all of the students in our public schools are being abused by this administration,” Pritzker stated.

Republican opponents for governor called Pritzker’s language inflammatory and poor leadership.

Pritzker was asked by NBC News about — if he wins a third term — will he serve all of those four years or run for president. He was noncommittal.