Illinois governor likens Trump's D.C. power-grab to Nazis as other 2028 Democrats wrestle with a response
During Trump's announcement Monday morning, the Republican president signaled he could make similar moves in other cities, including Chicago, which set Pritzker off.
Pritzker, 60, charged that Trump 'doesn't follow the law.'
'I have talked about the fact that the Nazis in Germany in the '30s tore down a constitutional republic in just 53 days,' Pritzker said.
'It does not take much, frankly, and we have a president who seems hell-bent on doing just that,' the Democrat added, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The comments came a day after Pritzker signaled that he was open to a 2028 presidential bid - something that Trump mocked during his raucous briefing.
'And now I understand he wants to be president,' Trump said. 'But I noticed he lost a little weight, so maybe he has a chance, you know? You never know what happen,' the president teased before adding, 'But Pritzker's a gross incompetent guy.'
In a social media post, Pritzker sarcastically wrote, 'Donald, thanks for the compliment!'
'Let's not lie to the public, you and I both know you have no authority to take over Chicago,' he continued. 'By the way, where are the Epstein files?'
A handful of other possible 2028 Democratic hopefuls were quick to criticize Trump too - though they didn't take it quite as far.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who objected to Trump deploying U.S. Marines and the National Guard to Los Angeles earlier this year to quell anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests, noted that the president 'was just getting warmed up in Los Angeles.'
'He will gaslight his way into militarizing any city he wants in America,' Newsom said. 'This is what dictators do.'
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, whose state is adjacent to Washington, D.C., said in an official statement that Trump's announcement 'lacks seriousness and is deeply dangerous.'
He claimed Trump was 'simply using honorable men and women as pawns to distract us from his policies.'
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a failed 2020 White House candidate, took to X to claim that 'Trump doesn't care about the rule of law, and he doesn't care about D.C.'
'This insulting stunt and abuse of power is all a distraction from his corruption and incompetence,' the New Jersey Democrat said.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who also ran an unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid, said the D.C. announcement amounted to a distraction and more.
'The president is doing this not in order to make the city safer - that's the job of local law enforcement - but to solve his own political problems,' Buttigieg said. 'I hesitate to use a word like "distraction," even though distraction is part of the goal, because it is legitimately important thing that he is taking power in this way.'
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro didn't chime in because he was distracted.
On Monday a steel mill outside of Pittsburgh exploded killing two workers and hurting others.
Other notable 2028 wannabes, including former Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer didn't immediately comment on the issue.
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