Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker has accused President Donald Trump’s inner circle of exploiting what he describes as the president’s declining mental state to manipulate him and advance their own agendas. The explosive comments came after Trump called for Pritzker’s arrest, along with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, as part of his controversial plan to deploy the National Guard to Chicago to tackle what he claims is a crisis of violent crime and illegal immigration.
Pritzker didn’t mince words when he spoke to The New Republic, describing the president’s remarks as not just alarming but “a cry for help.” “I do not expect to be arrested, and the president of the United States says a lot of crazy things,” Pritzker said. “I genuinely think there is something wrong with him. I wish that his family would intervene, because I do think he needs mental health help, and I don’t think anybody around him that works for him is going to do that, because they’re benefiting from his failure of mental health, his dementia. I wish somebody would help out the president of the United States.”
The governor’s remarks added a new level of intensity to a political feud that’s been brewing for months. Trump’s recent threat to “jail” Pritzker and Mayor Johnson was widely criticized as unconstitutional, with legal experts pointing out that the president has no authority to arrest state or local officials. “He doesn’t have authority to arrest elected officials or really anybody where you don’t have any example of a crime being committed,” Pritzker said. “I find it ironic that this guy who’s a 34-time convicted felon is saying that I should be jailed. I’ve never been accused of or convicted of anything. He’s the guy who’s done that so many times and cheated, by the way, in civil court.”
Pritzker suggested the president’s latest threats were part of a larger pattern of erratic behavior, describing them as another sign of “mental decompensation.” While he insisted he wasn’t taking the comments seriously, the Illinois governor acknowledged his concern about what Trump’s aides might do with the power they wield behind the scenes. “I don’t take it seriously other than I think the man has so much power at his fingertips because he’s president of the United States that the people around him might try to take it upon themselves to just make something up and come after me or Gavin Newsom,” he said. “I know they’ve mentioned that they might jail him or the mayor of the city of Chicago.”
The White House has not issued a formal response to Pritzker’s accusations, though Trump himself reportedly dismissed them as “another desperate Democrat stunt.” Still, the allegations have reignited conversations about the president’s mental fitness, which even some within his own party have quietly questioned.
For Pritzker, the situation reflects a dangerous mix of instability and opportunism. “He’s surrounded by people who know exactly what they’re doing,” he said. “They’re taking advantage of him, and it’s the country that’s paying the price.”
As the political firestorm continues, one thing is clear: the feud between Trump and Pritzker has moved far beyond policy disputes and into deeply personal and unsettling territory, with the Illinois governor painting a picture of a president out of control and a team exploiting him to cling to power.
