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Talking Feds

J.B. Pritzker takes on the Bully-in-Chief

Talking Feds

Harry Litman

News, Politics, Government

4.84.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has a message for Donald Trump: if you want to mess with my state, “you have to come through me.” In this wide-ranging sit-down, Pritzker reveals to Harry why he thinks the gerrymandering fight, ICE arrests, and troops in D.C. are all a blaring signal to Democrats that they need to finally fight the president on his own terms, no-holds-barred. They also discuss Pritzker's very personal reasons for going into public service, Trump's direct attacks on the governor, and a lot more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to Talking Fed's one-on-one, deep-dive discussions with national figures about the most fascinating and consequential issues, defining our culture and shaping our lives.

0:19.8

I'm your host, Harry Littman.

0:22.5

As the country has absorbed a series of constitutional outrages and unpopular policies at the hands

0:28.5

of Donald Trump, the Democratic Party has by and large remained mired in unpopularity, and the call

0:36.6

has gone out for a Democrat or five, both to take up the

0:40.9

charge against Trump and the captured Congress, and to articulate a compelling positive

0:46.8

vision for the party going forward. And among the most prominent national democratic figures

0:52.7

taking up that challenge of late, Illinois Governor

0:55.9

J. Robert or J. B. Pritzker currently completing his second term as governor of Illinois,

1:03.9

where he's compiled a strongly progressive record, including criminal justice, reproductive rights,

1:10.7

gun safety, voting rights, education,

1:13.8

all while the state's credit rating, which had plummeted, increased eight times.

1:18.9

So most recently, the governor has thrown himself into the redistricting battles that are

1:23.8

playing out in Texas and California, welcoming the Democratic legislators fleeing Texas

1:29.5

to try to foil the efforts to re-regermandered that state's map.

1:35.0

At the same time, he's been a spokesperson for a series of progressive policy positions while

1:40.6

serving up some rhetorical return fire to match the Republican record of

1:45.6

schoolyard venom.

1:47.4

So all that gives way too much material for one conversation.

1:51.1

So let's plunge in.

1:52.0

Thank you so much, Governor J.B. Pritzker for joining talking feds.

1:56.8

Thanks, Sherry.

...

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