Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Rachel Maddow about his threat to leave the National Governors Association of the group won’t speak out against Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard against U.S. cities. Pritzker explains how he sees the militarization of ICE and Border Patrol agents as a normalizing precursor to establishing a military presence in cities in time to interfere with the 2026 election.
In a candid interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued a sharp warning about what he sees as a dangerous escalation of federal militarization under Donald Trump’s influence. Pritzker revealed that he is prepared to withdraw Illinois from the National Governors Association (NGA) if the organization continues to remain silent on Trump’s recent deployment of the National Guard in U.S. cities.
“The NGA cannot stand idly by while an ex-president uses military forces as political tools,” Pritzker said, emphasizing that bipartisan unity should never come at the cost of democratic norms. His remarks come amid growing concern that Trump’s allies are repurposing immigration enforcement agencies, such as ICE and the Border Patrol, into quasi-military units that could be mobilized domestically.
According to Pritzker, the steady militarization of civilian agencies is not an isolated phenomenon but rather a calculated move to normalize a federal presence in American cities — one that could later be leveraged to influence elections. “What begins as a show of force against so-called ‘lawlessness’,” he warned, “can easily evolve into the suppression of political dissent. By the time the 2026 election arrives, we may find troops in the streets under the guise of maintaining order.”
Pritzker’s statements underscore a growing unease among Democratic governors, many of whom are grappling with how to respond to Trump’s increasingly authoritarian rhetoric. While some members of the NGA advocate for cautious diplomacy, Pritzker insists that silence would amount to complicity. “This isn’t about partisanship,” he told Maddow. “It’s about protecting the constitutional balance of power.”
Analysts note that the use of federal forces in domestic affairs has long been a constitutional gray area — one that could become a flashpoint if Trump, or any successor sympathetic to his vision, returns to power. “What we’re witnessing is the normalization of military involvement in civil governance,” said a political scientist at the University of Chicago. “Governors like Pritzker are trying to sound the alarm before that normalization becomes irreversible.”
As the 2026 midterm elections draw closer, Pritzker’s warning serves as both a political and moral challenge to his peers. Will the nation’s governors take a collective stand against creeping militarization, or will institutional caution once again mute the voices of dissent?
For Pritzker, the choice seems clear. “We either defend democracy now,” he concluded, “or we risk waking up one day to find it has quietly slipped away.