Governor Pritzker Discusses Fighting Back against Trump

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0:48Ben Meiselas:The White House is in panic mode as Donald Trump's approval is crashing on the real clear politics average. Over the past week, Donald Trump's approval has dropped approximately four points there, and it keeps on getting lower. We've also been covering how all these right-wing podcasters are turning against Donald Trump for his cover-up of the Epstein files, for sending his ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo, these SS -like armies, into peaceful communities to terrorize them, or for Donald Trump pardoning the biggest drug traffickers and fraudsters and criminals. People are pissed and the pissed off nature against Trump continues to grow.

1:40Ben Meiselas:So let me show you what went down in the White House where Caroline Levitt, Donald Trump's chief propagandist, asks a reporter what the reporter thought was the reason that Renee Nicole Good was killed. The reporter answers the question and gives the opinion that he was asked for. And then Levitt starts attacking the reporter. Watch what takes place. Why was Renee Goode unfortunately and tragically killed? Are you asking me my opinion? Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed it unjustifiable. Oh, okay. So you're a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion. What do you want me to do? Yeah, because you're a left-wing hack.

2:18Ben Meiselas:You're not a reporter. You're posing in this room as a journalist. And it's so clear by the premise of your question. And you and the people in the media who have such biases but fake, like you're a journalist, you shouldn't even be sitting in that seat. but you're pretending like you're a journalist, but you're a left-wing activist. And the question that you just raised and your answer proves your bias. You should be reporting on the facts. You should be reporting on the cases. Do you have the numbers of how many American citizens were killed at the hands of illegal aliens who ICE is trying to remove from this country?

2:48Ben Meiselas:Then Caroline Levitt declares that there is no more inflation and that Donald Trump has defeated Biden's inflation crisis, she says. Here, play this clip. President has already delivered. Tuesday's CPI report marked the latest confirmation that President Trump has defeated Joe Biden's inflation crisis. Since President Trump took office, core CPI has increased at just a 2.4 percent annualized rate, substantially lower than the 3.3 percent annual rate inherited from the Biden administration last January. Next, Caroline Levitt is asked about Donald Trump's statements about canceling elections twice in recent days.

3:30Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump has said he doesn't want any more elections. And Caroline Levitt says that's just Donald Trump joking around. Play this clip. My question is President Trump has talked twice in recent days, once at the Kennedy Center and then to Reuters again last night about canceling the election. Why is he talking about this? I believe you're referring to the president's interview at Reuters last night. I was in that interview. It was a closed He was joking. He was saying, we're doing such a great job. We're doing everything the American people thought. Maybe we should just keep rolling. But he was speaking facetiously.

4:05Ben Meiselas:And then one more. So then another reporter asked Caroline Levitt if she thinks it's just a funny joke to say that we don't want elections anymore, that this is a humorous topic that presidents should be talking about. Here, play this clip. Thank you, Caroline. Two questions. First, a follow-up on one of my colleagues who asked you about the president's interview with You said that he was joking about canceling the elections, but Americans for generations have fought and died for democracy, for this democracy. Are you saying that the president finds the idea of canceling elections funny? Andrew, were you in the room?

4:44Ben Meiselas:No, you weren't. I was in the room. I heard the conversation. And only someone like you would take that so seriously and pose it at a question that way. Next, Caroline Levitt is asked whether the fact that other nations in Europe are putting special forces and troops in Greenland, will that deter a United States invasion of Greenland? To which Caroline Levitt says, yeah, if European nations put their special forces there, doesn't matter. Our invasion plans or plans to acquire it or take it over by any means necessary and all options are on the table. That doesn't change. In essence, saying that America would go to war against Europe.

5:26Ben Meiselas:This is what's going down this morning. Here, play this clip right here. Well, to your first question on Greenland, I don't think troops in Europe impact the president's decision making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all. To your second question, I mean, anyone in their right mind with common sense who's speaking honestly and candidly will say that men cannot get pregnant. And I think I can attest to that myself. So thank you all very much. Next, Caroline Levitt was asked if it's still Donald Trump's assessment that the opposition leader of Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado, or Edmundo Gonzalez, who won the election back in July, if they are still ineffective and lack the respect and support of Venezuela such that they should not run the country.

6:19Ben Meiselas:And you'll see that Caroline Levitt says basically Trump's person is Delce Rodriguez, who is Maduro's VP. Trump likes the authoritarian regime in Venezuela right now. Watch what Caroline Levitt says here. Play this clip. Thank you, Caroline. Is it still the president's assessment that it would be very hard for Ms. Machado to leave Venezuela because he says she lacks the respect and support in that country? And will he raise that with her today? I think the president's assessment that you just pointed out was based on realities on the ground. It was a realistic assessment based on what the president was reading and hearing from his advisors and national security team.

7:01Ben Meiselas:And at this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed. And then finally, Caroline Levitt lies and says that drug prices are now down 500 percent and that Trump has implemented a most favored nation's provision, which is just not true at all. Play this clip. A small fraction of those who are within the healthcare marketplace, but every single American will continue to see their costs go down. And I will note that they already are with respect to prescription drug prices. We look at what the president has done with most favored nations. You've seen these big pharmaceutical companies in the Oval Office saying that this president and his team were nonstop around the clock, pressuring us and negotiating with us to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans.

7:45Ben Meiselas:And we are already seeing that to the tune in some cases of more than 500 percent. And that Trump Rx website is something that the administration will be formally not launching very soon. So Americans will have access to those lower, lower costs of drugs. Now I'm joined by Governor J.B. Pritzker of the great state of Illinois. Governor, it's great to see you. We see what's happening on the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul right now. Similarly, Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago and the surrounding areas. You have these ICE agents and Border Patrol agents terrorizing communities. I mean, what's your message as we sit here today, January 15th, and we see Trump talking about Insurrection Act?

8:30Ben Meiselas:It feels to me, whether they formally declare martial law or Insurrection Act, they've put the troops on the streets doing the same thing that we would envision what those acts are anyway. I view this as an invasion. How do you see it? Well, that's exactly right. I think you've characterized it exactly properly. Remember, we fought like heck and won finally at the Supreme Court on the issue of whether National Guard could be called in. This is short of the Insurrection Act. And remember, they didn't go away. I mean, the National Guard went away. But what they did was they doubled down with ICE and CBP in uniforms, automatic weapons, in the streets, marching through downtown Chicago, not to mention in the neighborhoods and scaring people, you know, throwing tear gas, all the rest of it.

9:21And importantly, because I know people are now paying attention to it in Minnesota, but someone was killed here in Illinois. Silvio, Silvario Villegas Gonzalez killed. And he was just taking his kids, just had dropped them off at daycare. And they killed him. And he had done nothing wrong. And they said, you know, they lied about it in the aftermath of that. And as they have about the killing in Minnesota. And it's not till, you know, you look at the video or you get the testimony of eyewitnesses that you find out Complete lies coming from the Department of Homeland Security. And they do it over and over again.

10:04We had Maramar Martinez shot five times in her car. They claimed that she had boxed them in and that she was aggressively going after them. But you know what? All the charges were dropped because it turns out complete BS. So what I would say to the people of Minneapolis and Minnesota is they're following the playbook that we had to kind of invent and create in Chicago. And it's working. And as long as you maintain the peaceful part of the peaceful protest, it is hugely beneficial. It does not give them an excuse to bring in troops. If you're out there loud, blowing your whistles, walking on the sidewalk and videoing, very important, everybody pull out your phones because it's allowing us to keep them accountable.

10:59We took them to court here and won over and over again as a result of the evidence that we were able to put together. So it's awful what's happening right now. And of course, just to remind you that the feds are supposed to be fighting to protect your civil rights, not to take them away. And the Insurrection Act is designed only for circumstances where your rights can't be protected by local authorities or by whatever federal authorities are already there. And then only then can federal troops be brought in to protect your civil rights. This is exactly the opposite. It's like they've turned it on their head on its head and your civil rights are being infringed upon by CBP and ICE.

11:45And then they want to call in troops on top of that, not to protect your civil rights, but claiming that they're protecting CBP and ICE. And it's just false. It's all it's a bunch of lies. We need to stand up and speak out about it and be loud for America.

12:00Ben Meiselas:I saw in some of the litigation brought by the state, by the city of Chicago, a stat that in like the 30, 40 past years, Chicago PD like never used these gaseous, noxious substances at all in anything. And Chicago's been through a lot like any major metropolitan area. But that just really stood out to me because on a daily basis, you'll see these scenes, peaceful protesters, and they're loud. Yes, sometimes they're cursing, but they're blowing their whistles and they're out there, but they're peaceful and they're on the side of the road. And the scene you see is these eyesore border patrol, and it's hard to tell who's who with the masks and they're wearing their military fatigues.

12:49Ben Meiselas:They're marching with these weapons of war. And then they take these gas canisters. In the case of Chicago and Illinois, we saw Bovino, literally the leader, take one. And then they chuck them at the people. And then the people start choking. And I see these scenes and I saw the stat that these are not law enforcement tactics of de-escalation or anything. This is a whole new thing that is paramilitary and that what we're used to seeing surround authoritarians, frankly, like the Maduros and like the Putins and these paramilitary groups that surround authoritarian leaders. Or now, I guess, Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela, who Trump's hoisted up with the Venezuelan colectivos that have people going around terrorizing the pro-democracy, pro-opposition forces there.

13:42Ben Meiselas:What do you make of just those tactics? Well, does it surprise you? I mean, let me just, you know, let's step back and remember that Donald Trump, starting back in 2020, was not only election denying, but really threatening to seize the ballot boxes, to bring in the National Guard, to try to keep himself in power. Now what he's doing is militarizing our cities, also threatening not to have elections. Just this morning, he said that, you know, maybe we shouldn't have an election in the midterms because Republicans might lose and that would be bad. And therefore, we should take away people's right to vote.

14:28And and this is a guy who over and over again has been all about protecting himself. ICE, CBP. Why are they building up this massive force? It's like a personal army for Donald Trump. They've got no training. They're hiring people that are MAGA enthusiasts. Indeed, we just saw that they were using AI. And what do you know, they brought people in no experience, no ability and fast tracking them and putting them on the streets because they want this kind of roughing up. They want this kind of terrorizing in the neighborhoods. And because it'll make those who are undocumented, you know, fearful, but it'll also make U.S.

15:17citizens fearful to speak out. And ultimately, it might make them fearful to vote in 2026. So I'm deeply concerned about the state of democracy right now. I know that this is not the issue on which, by the way, that elections get won, you know, talking about democracy, because what people really care about every day is, can I pay my electric bill? You know, can I go to the grocery store and feed my family? And am I earning enough? Those are the things that we really ought to be talking about front and center. But you can't have any of that unless we preserve democracy. So it's not an either or.

15:52We got to do both. But we've also got to win the elections in order to stop the madness that Donald Trump has inflicted upon the American people.

16:01Ben Meiselas:I want to talk in a moment about the lessons that you've learned over this past year that you would recommend to other governors and people. But first, just on the issue of affordability, there was this event at Mar-a-Lago that's gone viral where there are these people wearing dog costumes and doggy heads. And they're like, it's really creepy and eerie. And it's this let them eat cake moment while they're separating in their dog. I don't even know what the hell is even going on there at Mar-a-Lago with these people so disconnected from the struggles that people are currently facing. Electricity prices are going way up.

16:43Ben Meiselas:People can't afford their health care. They're getting kicked off of their Obamacare plans now because of the subsidies not being extended. groceries the highest over the past five or six years in December alone. And Trump's out there saying, this is the golden age. I did it. Like, we're amazing. So what's your message regarding that? Well, I mean, you know, what's crazy is that I think there are a whole bunch of people who voted for Donald Trump, good, well-meaning people who voted for Donald Trump, not all of them, but many of them, well-meaning because they just wanted some help. They thought Donald Trump was going to be answered to the challenges that they're having because he promised that he was going to do that.

17:35And then he's done none of it, right? No, he didn't end inflation on day one. No, he has not brought electricity prices down. Indeed, his policies are raising prices for people because he's getting rid of renewables. And then what do we see in the midst of people suffering through his administration? He's tearing down the ballroom and building a new, beautiful ballroom, gold-laden at the White House with their money, by the way, because he says it's not with their money. But the reality is that everything around it is costing you money, the taxpayers. That is the architect, the things that are going into tearing it down.

18:17And then ultimately, like, what does that have to do with addressing the problems that you're facing? It's a distraction that it's all about him personally aggrandizing himself. So it's disturbing. And you're right. Mar-a-Lago, I mean, you know, I like to say, I guess I would like to respond to if Donald Trump is threatening to invade Greenland because he says it's in his strategic interest to control Greenland. I'd like to say that Illinois is going to go take over Mar-a-Lago because it's in our, you know, interests. It's in our strategic interests to control Mar-a-Lago. I mean, who should stop us from doing that?

18:56And it just strikes me that he's run amok as president. He thinks he has he's all powerful. The Supreme Court seems to agree with him on many fronts. And it's just it's a danger to our future that that we're allowing him to do that. And that's why people have to stand up. And thank you for calling that out as well.

19:16Ben Meiselas:Before we go, overall message to other governors, message to the American people. You've been at this now for, what, seven years since the initial inauguration, but a year into this term. So what do you, what's your message to everybody about how do we go about this in 2026, where it seems that there's a clear escalation of the authoritarian tactics? Well, I guess one of the things that I would say to you is that, you know, we have shown in Illinois, and I think in a few other places around the country, Portland and elsewhere, that you can fight them and we can win. There are members of the judiciary who will do the right thing.

20:03there are elected officials that will do the right thing. You're starting to see that some of the MAGA Republicans are stepping back and saying, wait a minute, this isn't what we wanted. This isn't what we voted for. And it's because people are speaking out. You know, I have a T-shirt that says, be loud for America, because that is what it's going to take you. And you're seeing it. I'm so happy and proud of the people of Illinois. people who never protested before, have never been out there doing anything. They came out of their suburban homes with whistles to blow the whistle on these ICE and CBP officers because they were violating people's civil rights.

20:47And I guess my message to people is this is the moment. If you're ever going to stand up for America, if you believe in the concept and the Constitution and the concept of freedom, this is the moment for you to stand up and show your patriotism. And that's what I would ask people to do. And it's working, it's working, but we need more people to stand up and speak out. You saw it at the No Kings rallies, but now we're just talking about an everyday life. Look at Minnesota, but you're seeing, you know, people in New Orleans, you're seeing people in Memphis, places where you might not have expected it.

21:24People are upset about what's happening and more and more impetus, I think, for the American people to just take a little bit of time and effort and speak your mind about standing up for your civil rights and for the future of our country.

21:40Ben Meiselas:Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, thanks for fighting for democracy, and we appreciate you joining us here at the Midas Touch Network. Thanks, Ben. Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our sub stack at MidasPlus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad-free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at MidasPlus.com.

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