Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has called for the removal of President Donald Trump from office through the invocation of the 25th Amendment. The governor’s demand follows statements made by the president suggesting that American cities, specifically Chicago, should be utilized as training grounds for the U.S. Military.
The call for the president’s removal was based on Pritzker’s expressed concerns regarding the mental health of the president and the nature of his rhetoric. Pritzker stated that the president appears to be copying tactics used by Russian President Vladimir Putin by suggesting that troops be sent into cities as a proving ground for war or as a response to a perceived internal conflict within the United States.
Military Training Proposals in U.S. Cities
The controversy began after President Trump informed senior military leaders that he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to consider using dangerous cities as training sites for the military and National Guard. During these remarks, the president specifically mentioned Chicago, describing it as a large city with an incompetent governor.
Pritzker described the idea of using domestic cities as military training grounds as inane
and indicated that he is concerned for the president’s health. The governor asserted that there is something genuinely wrong with this man
and suggested that dementia may have set in.
Federal Deployment and Immigration Enforcement
The governor’s comments occurred amid reports that the Trump administration is seeking to deploy 100 military troops to Illinois. According to Pritzker, these troops would be used to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and facilities as part of a federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
The president also threatened to use U.S. Troops to wage a war against what he termed the enemy within
during a speech delivered to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia.
White House and Public Response
The White House responded to the governor’s call for the 25th Amendment through spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. Jackson did not directly address the request for the president’s removal but stated that President Trump is deeply concerned with the safety and security of all Americans, including those in Chicago, and is stepping in where Pritzker failed.
While Governor Pritzker has previously mentioned his belief that the president suffers from dementia, this instance marks the first time he has publicly called for the president to be removed from office.
The governor’s position has received support from others, including former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who stated that Trump is showing growing signs of dementia.
Donald Trump not only has dementia set in, but he’s copying tactics of Vladimir Putin. Sending troops into cities, thinking that that’s some sort of proving ground for war, or that indeed there’s some sort of internal war going on in the United States is just, frankly, inane and I’m concerned for his health.
Gov. JB Pritzker