GOV. JB PRITZKER (D-Ill.) joined moderator Kristen Welker for an interview on [Sunday] morning’s Meet the Press. See below for text highlights and a full transcript.
MUST CREDIT: NBC’s ‘Meet the Press with Kristen Welker’
VIDEO: Gov. JB Pritzker says redrawn Texas map ‘violates the Constitution’: Full interview
DIGITAL STORY: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blasts Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Trump over GOP redistricting efforts […]
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
KRISTEN WELKER: Joining me now is the Democratic Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker. Governor Pritzker, welcome back to Meet the Press.
GOV. JB PRITZKER: Great to see you, Kristen.
KRISTEN WELKER: Well, it is great to have you here after a very big week. Your state is housing some of the Democrats who fled Texas to block redistricting there. Senator John Cornyn says the FBI granted his request to help track them down, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott says they are preparing to arrest those Democrats. What would you do if law enforcement officials tried to arrest Texas lawmakers in your state, Governor?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: Well, first of all, Texas law does not apply in the state of Illinois, and there’s no federal law that would allow the FBI to arrest anybody that’s here visiting our state. So, it’s a lot of grandstanding. That’s what this is all about, and so, John Cornyn, who’s trying to run for reelection, apparently losing to an even more extreme MAGA Republican, Ken Paxton, trying to get some headlines for himself. And Greg Abbott, of course, has been a disaster for the country, as he sent people across the country on his quest to change the immigration discussion. And, of course, we had 50,000 migrants that were sent to the state of Illinois because of him. So, what I can tell you is that the Texas Democrats that are here are welcome. We’re providing them a safe haven, a place for them to visit and stay, breaking quorum, because they’re heroes that are standing up not just for their own constituents and for the people of Texas and their rights but also for the rights of people all across the country. Because what Greg Abbott is doing and what Donald Trump is attempting to do is to cheat mid-decade here. This is — they’re attempting to change the map. They know that they’re going to lose in 2026 the Congress, and so they’re trying to steal seats. And so that is what these Texas Democrats are trying to stand up against —
KRISTEN WELKER: Well —
GOV. JB PRITZKER: And then, don’t forget, the map that they put together is, it violates the Voting Rights Act, and it violates the Constitution. And so, thank God for these Texas House Democrats.
KRISTEN WELKER: Well, let’s talk about the issue at hand here. Texas Republicans being urged by President Trump, as you just said, are pushing this mid-decade redistricting plan. Their goal is to add as many as five GOP seats. In response, Democrats like yourself are thinking of drawing your own map to boost seats in blue states. Take a listen to what Texas Governor Greg Abbott told my colleague, Ryan Chandler, about that. Take a look.
[BEGIN TAPE]
RYAN CHANDLER: What’s your message to governors like Newsom, Hochul, Pritzker, who have said they will retaliate if Texas does this?
GOV. GREG ABBOTT: They have no capability. They’ve already gerrymandered their states in ways in which they don’t have hardly any Republican members of Congress. Look at the map of Illinois. It’s drawn in such a way they can’t even squeeze out another Republican. It’s a joke.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER: What’s your response to Governor Abbott?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: Well, Governor Abbott is the joke. He’s the one who is attempting mid-decade here, at a time when frankly all of us are concerned about the future of democracy, he’s literally helping whittle it away and licking the boots of his leader, Donald Trump. Here in Illinois, we followed the law. We provided a map and passed a map that follows the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution and the laws of the state of Illinois. He’s attempting to thwart federal law and take away five seats that are in the hands of Black, Brown, minority Congress people and the people that they represent. He’s taking those votes away. He’s violating the Constitution. And all of us need to stand up and speak out and make sure that it’s understood across the country that what they’re trying to do in Texas is illegal.
KRISTEN WELKER: Well, Governor, it might be illegal. It’s not unprecedented though, or it might be rare, I should say. But Texas actually tried to redraw districts mid-decade before in 2003, and the U.S. Supreme Court actually upheld the map in that case, with the exception of one district. So the argument that Abbott is making is it’s not illegal, though they are doing it certainly in an off-year. But I do want to look at the map of Illinois. Let’s take a look at this. Despite President Trump winning 44% of the statewide vote in 2024, Republicans hold only three of Illinois’ 17 districts. These districts seem to be designed to maximize Democratic advantage. What do you say to those who argue that it’s hypocritical for you to criticize Texas for partisanship, when your state also drew maps to boost your party’s standing?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: Well, remember that what Texas is trying to do is, again, violate the Voting Rights Act. We didn’t. We held public hearings, legislative hearings. People attended them. They spoke out. There was a map that was put out. There were actually changes made to the map. And a map was passed, and it was done at the end of the census, the decennial census. So that’s how it’s done in this country. You talked about how rare it is to do what he’s doing. Yes, it is. What’s even rarer is to do it at the behest of the president of the United States, who’s clearly attempting to and says that he deserves to have five more seats. He’s wrong, and he’s attempting to change the game because, again, he passed this big ugly bill that’s hyper-unpopular in Texas, among people in Texas and across the country. And he knows he’s going to lose the Congress in 2026. That’s why he’s going to his allies and hoping that they can save him. And we’ve all got to stand up against this. This is — it’s cheating. Donald Trump is a cheater. He cheats on his wives. He cheats at golf. And now he’s trying to cheat the American people out of their votes.
KRISTEN WELKER: Well, look. Sticking on your state’s map, every major group that grades the fairness of congressional maps gives your state an “F.” Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog, even says your map, and I’m going to quote, “represents a nearly perfect model for everything that can go wrong with redistricting.” And I guess the question is, you talk about preserving democracy. How do you preserve democracy if you’re using the same tactics that you’ve criticized Texas Republicans for?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: But as I say, what they’re talking about is a distraction. The reality is that the violation of people’s voting rights is what Texas is attempting to do. That’s what’s wrong with their efforts right now. And the fact that the president of the United States knows it and nevertheless, is asking them to do it. That is what’s wrong with what we’re seeing right now. Democracy is at stake, and these Texas Democrats are standing up to what the GOP is attempting to do, which is to steal seats because they know what they’ve done is wrong. They know that they’ve made an enormous mistake.
KRISTEN WELKER: Let’s turn now to foreign policy, Governor, and the crisis in Gaza. As you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu says he’s now planning a ground invasion into Gaza City. Illinois has one of the largest populations of Palestinian-Americans in the U.S. More than half of the Democratic Senators last week, a record number, actually voted to block sales of some weapons to Israel. Do you think the U.S. should stop sending weapons to Israel, Governor?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: Look, I think that the resolution that was put up in the United States Senate was an effort to send a message. And it’s the right kind of a message, which is that Israel needs to make sure that the food assistance that ought to go to innocent Palestinians should arrive there. And they should do everything in their power to prevent the starvation that I think we’ve all seen. So that’s the message that’s attempting to be sent by the United States Senate. I believe it’s very important for us not only to protect those who are innocent – on both sides of that border, making sure that Israelis and Palestinians are protected – but also to make sure that we’re seeing the return of the hostages, that Israel is allowed to stand up to terrorists like Hamas but not allowed to target or have ill effect as best they can on the innocent people of Gaza. So that I think is what’s going on right now. We’ve all got to stand up and make sure that the innocent are protected.
KRISTEN WELKER: All right. Well, I want to talk about the future now of your party. You’re one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, you are also a billionaire. Some in your party are openly questioning whether billionaires such as yourself should exist at all, Governor. Just listen to what Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democratic nominee for mayor told me recently. Take a look.
[BEGIN TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER: Do you think that billionaires have a right to exist?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I don’t think that we should have billionaires, because frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER: Governor, is that the kind of message that Democrats should be embracing?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: Look – how much money you have doesn’t determine what your values are. And I’m a Democrat because I believe that everyone deserves healthcare. I’m a Democrat because I believe we’ve got to fund education and have a free public education available to every kid in this country. I’m a Democrat because I believe that we’ve got to stand up for our democracy and against the MAGA Republicans who are literally trying to take away people’s rights all across this country. So it does not matter what your income level is. What matters is what your values are, and that’s what makes me a Democrat.
KRISTEN WELKER: Well, there is a big debate right now inside the Democratic Party about how exactly to counter Trump and counter Republicans. Here’s what you said at a fundraiser in New Hampshire a little bit earlier on this year. Take a listen.
[BEGIN TAPE]
GOV. JB PRITZKER: These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER: Now, you’re running for a third term as governor in your state. How can you guarantee voters that you will govern everyone and not just Democrats?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: Because I’ve demonstrated that during my time in office already. You know, people forgot in years past – Republicans – we had more Republicans holding the governor’s office over the last 40 years than we had Democrats. And they forgot about southern Illinois and central Illinois and about areas of the state where there are more Republicans than Democrats. I did not. I have made sure that we’ve invested in education and infrastructure, that we’ve created jobs in those areas of the state. We need more people that are willing to reach across the aisle and do the right thing when they’re in office. Look, we have tough elections, Democrats and Republicans fighting one another. But after the election is over, when you’re actually governing, you’ve got to govern for all the people of your state. And that’s what I’ve done for the last six-and-a-half years and look forward to doing for another four.
KRISTEN WELKER: All right, Governor, very quickly before I let you go. Do you rule out a run for president in 2028?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: I’m focused on running for reelection as Governor of the State of Illinois, and everything that I do really is focused on lifting up the people of my state.
KRISTEN WELKER: But you don’t rule it out, Governor? Yes or no?
GOV. JB PRITZKER: I can’t rule anything out, but what I can rule in is that no matter what decisions I make, and I mean in particular about what I do here in the State of Illinois is about the people of Illinois. Indeed, any future decisions of mine will always be guided by that.
KRISTEN WELKER: All right. Governor JB Pritzker, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
Discuss.
- JS Mill - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:16 am:
=And, of course, we had 50,000 migrants that were sent to the state of Illinois because of him.=
I wonder why the rapid anti immigrant powers in washington like Homa and Noem are not going after Abbott for this clear violation of the law?
- JS Mill - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:23 am:
Not rapid (although maybe that too) but RABID.
- LP-Dad - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:24 am:
First it was kindergarten joke, now it’s a fight for democracy. He is not good on his feet. And that’s a disaster for national politics.
JB 2028 is the Mike Bloomberg 2020 campaign all over again.
At least some consultants will get paid.
- Candy Dogood - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:36 am:
=== Look – how much money you have doesn’t determine what your values are.===
That’s not true. Also especially odd coming from the first Governor that I am aware of who essentially paid an additional six figure sum out of his own pocket to just some of his staff. How does he make that distinction? That’s a question of values too.
The billionaire question is why JB Pritzker is an incredibly weak candidate. Would he support policies that make it impossible for people with wealth like his where he has spent at this point hundreds of millions of his own dollars to enact his political whims, just like Elon Musk has, is impossible to accumulate, retain, or pass on to your heirs?
JB’s wealth certainly matters.
JB Pritzker values being a billionaire which is why he has remained a billionaire. JB Pritzker has spent many years of his life engaged in the practice of growing and expanding his wealth because he valued growing and expanding his wealth.
He needs better talking points on this issue than pivoting to a question about values because a tax code that transfers wealth away from the public to the pockets of a few is a question of values.
We let people amass fortunes of billions of dollars while we let people go without access to basic human needs.
Personal fortunes worth billions of dollars are part of the problem. What benefit does policy that allows people to hoard wealth and hoard wealth over many generations have for the rest of us?
The Governor’s response is not very well thought out.
The Governor’s probably not got anyone in his inner circle willing to explain to him why it isn’t a response that will keep him afloat during a national Democratic primary.
- Steve - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:43 am:
-JB 2028 is the Mike Bloomberg 2020 campaign all over again.-
JB is the Governor of the 6th largest state . He has more support than Bloomberg had. I wouldn’t write him off just yet. He has a lot of money to raise his profile. He had a tough interview. Illinois’s Congressional map is a national joke. It’s getting a lot of press. The Illinois map was designed to keep Republicans from Congressional office: it’s working. The GOP is fortunate because Illinois just isn’t going to gain seats anytime soon.
- Johnny B - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:44 am:
Do you think if a Republican Governor sanctimoniously lecturing the country about gerrymandering joked that kindergartners drew his states congressional maps a week ago the Meet the Press host would have called him out for that?
- jolietj - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:47 am:
Candy. The political system of this country is built on a foundation of money, money, and more money. It is all that matters. Whether it be a billionaire’s hobby or a politician with a multimillion dollar war chest, money is at the root of our system. It is why the actors within it don’t change the rules as it relates to money in our system in any meaningful way.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 9:58 am:
“OMG JB, what about Mamdani!?!?!
Care to comment on having money, which we all know a democrat isnt supposed to have?”
Watching American infotainment talkers like Welker pretend to be actual journalists is amusing but presenting it to the public like it’s meaningful is laughable. People don’t have to pretend there is any substance to this just because it’s how some vacuous people make a really nice living.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:02 am:
===amusing but presenting it to the public like it’s meaningful is laughable===
The Democratic Party has a large contingent which believes that billionaires are evil, so your point is kinda lost on me. I mean, look at the Bernie Sanders speech shortly before JB’s speech at last year’s convention.
- Sue - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:12 am:
JS-JB should be sending Abbott Roses-the only reason Illinois has a. Plus in population is thanks to those buses
- Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:16 am:
“He is not good on his feet.”
Because the two men to occupy the White House since January 2017 have been absolute wordsmiths.
- Jack in Chatham - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:22 am:
Illinois has 17 Congressional districts with a fourteen and three split. If Illinois had a more balanced map the split could be ten and seven. We have had one casino operator as President (twice) so the voters won’t mind another.
- Brandon - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:29 am:
Last I checked, JB put millions of his own money toward a chsnge in the state income tax that would have taxed himself more. Meanwhile, republicans like Ken Griffin spent millions to stop it, more than what they would have had to pay had it been passed.
Let me know when republican billionaires try to pass legislation that would make themselves pay more in taxes and lower income people less.
Until then, shut up with your both billionaires are the same.
- Responsa - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:36 am:
This was Welker’s question to JB:
=Well, look. Sticking on your state’s map, every major group that grades the fairness of congressional maps gives your state an “F.” Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog, even says your map, and I’m going to quote, “represents a nearly perfect model for everything that can go wrong with redistricting.” =
This was our governor’s answer:
=But as I say, what they’re talking about is a distraction…=
This is almost as poor a response to an obvious and serious question as was the kindergarten blunder last week. How could he have been so unprepared again this week? Do he and his comms staff honestly not see how ungood he is coming across?
- Odysseus - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:44 am:
Pritzker is the best candidate for President in 2028 that i have heard discussed.
Far better than Newsom, whose attacks on homeless and trans people are outright disqualifying. And that’s not even mentioning his obvious disdain for COVID control measures and his efforts to block universal health care.
- Steve - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 10:53 am:
-How could he have been so unprepared again this week?-
JB was prepared. He knows most people don’t care about this stuff (certainly in Illinois). It’s inside baseball for political junkies. Most people don’t watch political talkshows on Sunday morning. In a few weeks , there will be other issues to think about.
- Johnny B - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:07 am:
The vast majority of the Pritzker wealth is sheltered from taxes in the Bahamas. We all know he tried to avoid paying his fair share in property taxes.
Considering his net worth, the income he pays state and federal taxes on of about 20 million a year is a pittance compared to what Ken Griffith pays in income taxes
- CA-HOON - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:12 am:
Ok, sorry for venting but it is infuriating to no end to see more of this “Democrats have to be flawless while Republicans get to be lawless” bull from the media.
Just one point among many I could make on this line: gotta love how MTP will attack Pritzker for the partisan gerrymander in Illinois without providing the context for *why political gerrymanders exist to begin with* and why Illinois (or any Democrat-led state) has them at all.
We are here because radical right-wing “justices” on SCOTUS decided that the gerrymander was completely fine and legal and didn’t disenfranchise “anyone” so long as it was gerrymandered “only” by partisan metrics.
That case was Rucho v. Common Cause, and in that case only the GOP-appointed justices followed the tortured logic which legalized partisan gerrymanders nationwide, and only the Democratic-appointed justices dissented. The same is true of the amicus briefs: overwhelmingly Democrats opposed legalizing it, and overwhelmingly the GOP pushed for it.
It is disingenuous to talk about any state’s gerrymander as a “gotcha” when the entire issue has been created by the GOP and its anti-democray majority on SCOTUS.
And it’s especially *stupid* to then imply the Democrats should take the “high road” and disarm unilaterally, giving the GOP the super-majority it has been conniving for the last 3 decades.
But then, mainstream media is always going to pander to the lowest-common denominators among us who will never question how we got here, because the media continues to make a “both sides” argument, which is a thought-terminating cliche at this point and just makes people more cynical, which is how Trump got into power in the first place thanks to this crap from the media.
Ok vent over.
- Steve - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:15 am:
-Considering his net worth-
What you say is true. In Illinois, this doesn’t matter if an elected Democrat says and does certain things. JB is largely popular. Can’t say he doesn’t represent what voters want in Illinois.
- Ben - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:18 am:
” JB is largely popular.”
Not according to the latest poll. Hey Rich, are you going to allow Steve to continue to spew nonsense here?
- Leap Day William - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:25 am:
== We all know he tried to avoid paying his fair share in property taxes. ==
If by “avoiding his fair share of property taxes” this you mean he used the tools any person can use to not pay full property taxes on a home that isn’t being inhabited, then sure. People who hang this up as some kind of gotcha have clearly never done a long-term renovation. Source: I did this exact same thing a decade and change ago at a home I was completely renovating because we weren’t living there.
- @misterjayem - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:34 am:
“JB has failed,” asserts the crew who always assert that he has failed.
– MrJM
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:47 am:
I cannot believe journalists don’t expect better than this kind of halfwit discourse.
“What about how dem voters hate billionaires.” Golly I don’t know, maybe consider whether that’s a political journalist talking point rather than an actual thing, considering the question is being posed to a billionaire who won the last couple Dem primaries he ran in by wide margins.
- City Zen - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:54 am:
==JB put millions of his own money toward a chsnge in the state income tax that would have taxed himself more. Meanwhile, republicans like Ken Griffin spent millions to stop it==
Pritzker reported $3.2 million in state taxable income last year. According to ProPublica, Griffin was earnings over $1 billion per year when he lived in Illinois. So apples and hand grenades.
There was no saintly sacrifice on JB’s part. His true wealth extends far beyond the state’s reach.
- Riddle Me This - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 11:57 am:
Governor, if the Republicans forgot Southern Illinois, how is it that GOP candidates are now dominant in this region? There was a time when Southern Illinois was safe for Democrat candidates.
- Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 12:06 pm:
“how is it that GOP candidates are now dominant in this region”
Mainly, a loss of agriculture and mining jobs that required little education and a belief that any politician could reverse decades of technological advancements that rendered those jobs obsolete,
and,
the fear of not being able to own firearms that most of them can’t afford any way.
- H-W - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 12:09 pm:
@ CA-HOON
Nice vent.
- Johnny B - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 12:22 pm:
Did you pay over 330k in back property taxes after finishing your remodeling project like the Governor did?
The Cook County Inspector General ruled he engaged in a scheme to defraud the County or property tax revenue
Why would he pay taxes he did not owe?
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/03/654201077/illinois-gov-candidate-removed-mansions-toilets-to-dodge-taxes-report-finds
- Candy Dogood - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 12:31 pm:
===if the Republicans forgot Southern Illinois===
Mike Bost runs around Southern Illinois constantly taking credit for things that are the result of legislation he voted against.
So does the rest of the ilk in the state legislature.
Let me know if you need specific examples.
- Mason County - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 12:40 pm:
JB did a pretty good job on trying to defend his position. However the Illinois Congressional districts, in which he palyed an important role, speak for themselves. I thought the moderator did a good job on this overall issue with good give and take. Kept coming back to the larger issue of representaitve voting while letting JB speak.
As to the larger issues. I can find nothing in Federal law or SCOTUS that prohibits States from redistrcting between censuses. If I have missed something on that issue please correct me.
Did JB do himself any good in his bid for the Presidency? Not really. He kept his cool and stayed on his message but that message dos not look that good in a state that is one of them most gerrymandered in the nation. The 13th and 17th really stand out.
Still thinking he knows he has littel chance but could possibly get the VP nomination.
- froganon - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 1:16 pm:
Statewide offices aren’t affected by gerrymandering and, statewide, Democrats hold all of the offices. Republican ideas and governance are being rejected by the majority of people in Illinois. I look forward to the day when we have a SCOTUS and national laws that ban gerrymandering for every precinct in every state. Until we get there, we gerrymander to survive.
- Candy Dogood - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 1:52 pm:
===“JB has failed,” asserts the crew who always assert that he has failed.===
Finishing a race and winning a race are two very different things. Governing is not a zero sum game. Politics is not a zero sum game.
Winning a party’s nomination is a zero sum game with a whole lot of lot of non-zero sum games that are added together for the file zero sum game result.
- Steve - Monday, Aug 11, 25 @ 2:04 pm:
-Not according to the latest poll-
It’s one poll. It’s not several polls. Plus, you have to beat something with something. Who’s the GOP candidate that can beat Pritzker or any other Illinois Democrat statewide ? And I say this as someone who’s never voted for JB. I try and live in the real world.