Politics
Pritzker Praises Harris, Slams ‘Con Artist’ Trump in DNC Speech
Gov. J.B. Pritzker worked hard to bring the Democratic National Convention to Chicago, and Tuesday he got a reward: a primetime speech during the DNC, putting him in the national spotlight for the biggest address of his political career.
Pritzker used the opportunity to brag some about Illinois, with a nod to the state’s ties to Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama.
“Our love of country has been a tapestry of faith that weaves from Abraham Lincoln reuniting a house divided to Barack Obama declaring blue states and red states make one United States. Now, Illinois’ presidential pedigree is unmatched. And given that Vice President Kamala Harris spent some of her early life right here — I speak for the entire Illinois delegation when I say we claim her, too.”
Harris lived in central Illinois when her parents worked at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and according to the blog Evanston Now, she also lived in Evanston while they were at Northwestern University.
But Pritzker spent the bulk of his speech focused on “the con artist the Republicans nominated in Milwaukee last month” — former President Donald Trump.
“I had to govern for two years while Trump was president,” Pritzker said. “… During COVID we supported small businesses and jobs. And Donald, well, Donald told us to inject bleach.”
The governor, who is midway through his second term and had been on Harris’ shortlist for vice president, called Trump weird, dangerous and cruel.
“Donald Trump thinks we should trust him on the economy because he claims to be very rich. But take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity.”
Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt fortune who is listed by Forbes as the 954th richest person in the world, has used his money to propel his political ambitions and is continuing to do so now.
He’s among the donors who collectively contributed $95 million to throw the DNC — a convention record.
WTTW News repeatedly asked Pritzker last week how much he donated to the DNC; he didn’t want to say, just that he was not the top contributor.
“Everybody that contributed was really buying a package of sorts as a sponsor, including a suite in the convention hall,” Pritzker said. “I evaluated what those offerings were, and I made up my mind.”
Pritzker said it was important to him to bring the DNC to Chicago because of the economic benefit of bringing 50,000 visitors to the city.
“It’s the best convention city in the country,” he said.
Pritzker on Tuesday is also throwing a private concert at Chicago’s Salt Shed venue, featuring Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend.
Pritzker said he is expecting 1,000 people to attend, and that he chose Legend because of his music but also because he supports Democratic causes.
Republicans like Senate Minority Leader John Curran said Pritzker’s claims of Democratic policies that support working families and economic gains are disconnected from his record leading Illinois, given the state’s high property taxes and increased taxes on businesses.
“It’s time for Gov. Pritzker to take a break from his national campaigning and focus on the job he was elected to.”
Contact Amanda Vinicky: @AmandaVinicky | [email protected]
