Written by David E. Smith

After reading and listening to almost a week’s worth of commentary about Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign speech to New Hampshire Democrats on Sunday, April 27, 2025, and despite a wise recommendation to ignore him, some problems need to be tackled. His militant comments and calls for mass protests against Republicans in general — and the Trump administration specifically — stirred significant controversy on both sides of the political spectrum. (Watch the entire 30 minute speech HERE.)

Before calling for political divisiveness, JB Pritzker began his speech by boasting about his accomplishments during his first term as Illinois governor, saying:

We enshrined reproductive rights into law. We legalized cannabis. We protected labor rights. We joined the U.S. climate alliance.

That’s right, the very first thing Pritzker highlighted was eliminating all regulations on abortion in Illinois. He also expanded taxpayer funds for abortion “services,” for residents and non-residents. This is par for the course. After all, he launched a national nonprofit group named “Think Big America” in 2023. The purpose of this organization is to normalize abortion and make pre-born baby slaughter legal in every state across the country.

And to help residents self-medicate with high-potency THC products, he bragged about legalizing recreational marijuana, which is now outpacing alcohol use. I suppose he and the foolish lawmakers who approved this dangerous policy want to help people better cope with guilt about their abortion(s), or the anxiety and other negative feelings being internalized as they listen to climate-change alarmists.

To give him credit, however, Pritzker honestly and accurately labeled some of his fellow Party members as “do-nothing Democrats.” While we agree with his criticism, we disagree on the reason for his condemnation and his explanation:

So folks, the reckoning is here and now that this culture of timidity is on full display those same do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of black people of trans kids of immigrants instead of their own lack of guts and gumption. Voters didn’t turn out for Democrats last November, not because they don’t want us to fight for their values, but because they think we don’t want to fight for our values.

Is he tone deaf? Or is he merely pandering to the base of the Party? It’s arguably the latter, as it appears more and more likely that Pritzker is going to run for the Democratic nomination in 2028, after he runs for re-election as Illinois governor in 2026.

Knowing he has to win over the base of the Party to win the nomination, he happily champions radical leftwing social issues of abortion, transgenderism, racism, open borders, and climate change. He wants them to know he is their guy.

Whereas most conservatives agree that do-nothing Democrats have earned this epithet because of their failing record on illegal immigration, education, biological reality, protecting the integrity of women’s sports, balancing the budget, curtailing crime, etc.

But I digress…

Call for Mass Protests

Pritzker saved the hottest portion of his fiery rhetoric for Trump and Republican officials. Perhaps his most controversial statement was his unprecedented call for “mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption,” urging that Republicans “cannot know a moment of peace.” You can read his words in context:

Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption, but I am now. 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 soap box and then punish them at the ballot box.

They must feel in their bones that when we survive this shameful episode of American history with our democracy intact, because we have no alternative but to do just that, that we will relegate their portraits to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traders, and when the courage of our civic leaders waivers … when they fail to stand up for our country, in its moment of greatest need then we should remind them that cowardice always comes at a cost.

In the world’s most successful republic, no generation of Americans has escaped our true inheritance. The test that we are given, that asks how hard we are willing to fight to keep our society free.

…

So tonight, I’m telling you what I’m willing to do and that’s fight for our democracy for our liberty for the opportunity for all of our people to live lives that are meaningful and free … Are you ready for the fight?

In the days after his controversial remark, Pritzker tried to obfuscate, saying that he meant using “every megaphone and microphone” to oppose GOP policies and to “castigate them on the soapbox and punish them at the ballot box.”

Please note, Pritzker did not suggest that Democrats come up with better messaging and moderate policies. He did not recommend that they nominate sane, common-sense candidates for office. No, he insisted that they double-down on woke.

In the aftermath of the violent political riots of the “Summer of Love” in 2020, we have good reason to be skeptical. Add to that the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and Congressman Steve Scalise and the threat against Justice Brett Kavanaugh after U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer’s comment that U.S. Supreme Court justices “won’t know what hit” them if they rule against Roe v Wade:.

I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.

So what did Pritzker mean when he said that Republicans “cannot know a moment of peace.” This is much more than just being loud and disruptive. It is open advocacy to public discord and agitation.

According to the Merriam-Webster online thesaurus, the antonyms of peace are:

Is this what Pritzker is calling for? We’d like to know,

-Is he okay with the cowardly murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?

-Does he condone the multiple cases of violence committed against pro-life activists by pro-choice offenders, which have spiked since the Dobbs decision?

-Why didn’t Pritzker publicly condemn the assassination attempt of Donald Trump?

-Is he okay with the vandalism and fire-bombings of Tesla showrooms and vehicles?

-What about the threats directed at Elon Musk? U.S. Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA) was reported to have called for physical violence against Musk during a CNN interview.

-Has he condemned antisemitism at taxpayer-funded Northwestern University?

-Was he okay with the widespread riots, looting, and numerous cases of arson in the wake of the death of George Floyd?

-How about the thwarted mass-shooting attack at the pro-family Family Research Council in 2012 or the fire-bombing of the offices of our friends at the Wisconsin Family Council in 2022?

It would be great if someone attempts to get Pritzker to answer these questions on the record.

Don’t hold your breath…

Conclusion 

Governor JB Pritzker’s New Hampshire speech was a calculated escalation, blending fierce anti-Trump rhetoric with a challenge to Democrats to abandon civility and decorum. His call for “mass protests” and “disruption” while encouraging the crowd to “fight” was clearly an incitement and not an olive branch.

The speech may have solidified Pritzker’s bona fides as a 2028 contender and resonated with leftwing activists, but it also exposed fault lines within the Democratic Party and risks alienating independent voters.

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Read More

Gov. Pritzker’s Call for Mass Protests Could Be Construed As Inciting Violence (VIDEO)

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin Objects to Gov. Pritzker’s Divisiveness (VIDEO)

Luigi Mangione Musical Sells Out (Newsweek)

Assassination Culture (Kerby Anderson)

Stunning New Study Shows Left’s ‘Assassination Culture’ Has Hit Disturbing Levels (Western Journal)

Political Assassinations Are on the Rise. It’s a Symptom of Growing Global Instability. (Business Insider)