Chicago, Sept. 3, 2025 — A war of words erupted Wednesday between Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, even as President Donald Trump escalated threats to send federal troops into Chicago.
Pritzker, a Democrat and billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, has emerged as one of Trump’s most outspoken critics amid the president’s push to expand federal policing power. Speaking at recent public events, Pritzker blasted Trump’s “slipping mental faculties” and warned the president not to bring his federal crackdown to Illinois. “Do not come to Chicago,” Pritzker said bluntly.
Cruz, appearing on Newsmax’s Chris Salcedo Show, swung back hard — mocking both Pritzker’s record on crime and his weight.
“What a disgusting, racist bigot J.B. Pritzker is,” Cruz declared, accusing him of slighting Latinos during his critiques of Trump. “And listen, I don’t want to get between J.B. Pritzker and the Domino’s pizza line, but I’ll tell you what I am willing to get between: him and his open doors for every human trafficker, every drug trafficker, every MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gang member.”
Pritzker wasted no time firing back on X, invoking Cruz’s infamous February 2021 trip to Cancun during Texas’s deadly winter freeze.
“And I would never want to get between Ted and a trip to Cancun when there’s an emergency in Texas,” Pritzker wrote.
Trump’s Threats Loom
The escalating feud comes as Trump renews threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, mirroring his controversial federal takeover of policing in Washington, D.C. Trump has framed the move as necessary to fight violent crime, even though crime rates in Chicago have dropped significantly this year.
Critics point out that many states sending troops to aid Trump’s D.C. operation have crime problems as severe or worse than Chicago’s. “This is political theater, not public safety,” one Illinois Democrat said.
Political Stakes
The spat between Pritzker and Cruz illustrates how Trump’s aggressive law-and-order agenda is deepening partisan divides. For Pritzker, standing up to Trump cements his image as a defender of Illinois sovereignty and Chicago’s autonomy. For Cruz, targeting Pritzker provides another chance to flex loyalty to Trump’s base and to cast Democrats as weak on crime.
But for Chicago residents, the rhetoric raises fears of an outside intervention that could disrupt local governance and deepen distrust between communities and law enforcement.
What’s Next
The White House has not confirmed when or how Trump might send federal forces into Chicago, but senior officials have hinted that planning is underway. Illinois leaders, meanwhile, are bracing for a legal battle if the president moves forward.
For now, the political firefight is being waged in interviews and social media posts — with both sides digging in and neither showing signs of backing down.
