Vice President Vance said on Sunday that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) should “suffer some consequences” after President Trump called for the outspoken governor to be jailed for failing to protect federal immigration enforcement.
In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos noted Trump’s call for Pritzker to be jailed and repeatedly asked the vice president whether the Democratic governor had committed a crime.
“I think Governor Pritzker has certainly failed to keep the people of Illinois safe,” Vance responded when first asked, pointing to the high murder rate in Chicago.
“Why is he so mad at Donald Trump for trying to keep Chicagoans safe? He should be mad at the criminals that he has failed to keep at bay,” he added. “We’re trying to help him, and we’re trying to help the residents of his biggest city. I wish that he would let us because he certainly isn’t doing the job himself.”
Stephanopoulos continued to press Vance directly on whether “you agree with President Trump that Governor Pritzker has committed a crime.”
The vice president sidestepped the question but said he thinks Pritzker should suffer consequences for his alleged failures as governor.
“Well, I think that Governor Pritzker has allowed a lot of people to be killed in the city of Chicago and elsewhere, George. I think that it’s disgraceful, and I think that he absolutely should suffer some consequences for the fact that there are thousands of innocent Chicagoans who are dead because he failed to do his job,” Vance said.
When Stephanopoulos asked once more, Vance said he thinks Pritzker “violated his fundamental oath of office” but that it’s up to the court to decide whether the governor committed a crime.
“It’s really a yes or no question,” Stephanopoulos said. “Do you believe he’s committed a crime?”
“George, you are going to keep on asking this question, I’m going to keep on telling you that Governor Pritzker has failed to do his job. He should suffer some consequences,” Vance said.
“Whether he’s violated a crime, ultimately, I would leave to the courts, but I certainly think that he has violated his fundamental oath of office. That seems pretty criminal to me. I’d leave it to a judge and juries to decide whether he’s actually violated the crime.”
Pritzker, who appeared next on the ABC News show, responded to the interview by saying the Trump administration is “making things up to go after people.”
“Well, you just heard a tidal wave of lies from the vice president of the United States. It’s a bit shocking, and you heard over and over again him just making things up on national television with you,” Pritzker said.
“You know, there’s a reason why the judge here in federal court said that the administration lacks credibility and why even the Nobel Prize committee chair said that the administration lacks integrity. This administration, led by a 34-time convicted felon, is threatening to jail people that are their political opponents,” he continued.
Pritzker said he would continue standing up for people in his state.
“They’re making things up to go after people. We’re seeing it day in and day out. And the fact that he’s made a threat against me, I’m not afraid. I’m going to stand up for the people of my state. And we’ve got to all stand together because there is truly unconstitutional actions that are coming out of this administration, coming at the states and the people of the United States and all of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to speak out about it.”
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