Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, seemingly launching his bid for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, called for “mass protests” and “disruption” in an apparent effort to outflank other potential candidates with aggressive rhetoric against the Trump administration.

An average of recent polls of likely 2028 Democratic contenders shows former Vice President Kamala Harris leading with 27.1%, followed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 16.1%, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) at 12.9%, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) at 8.6%, and California Governor Gavin Newsom at 7.9%. Pritzker currently ranks 10th, with 3.2%.

Speaking at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner on Sunday, Pritzker bellowed, “Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption, but I have now. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and every microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.”

What Trump and Republicans are doing are what more than half the country supported during the 2024 elections — on the economy, with mass deportations, bringing jobs back to the U.S., and negotiating fairer trade deals.

Pritzker calls for mass protests and disruption – “Republicans cannot know a moment of peace,” he says, swaying their portraits will one day be put in museums “reserved for tyrants and traitors” pic.twitter.com/BBBuL1Uz9O

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) April 28, 2025

In February, Pritzker seemingly implied that the Trump administration was like Nazis in his State of the State Address, saying he was “watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. … Here’s what I’ve learned — the root that tears apart your house’s foundation begins as a seed — a seed of distrust and hate and blame. The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn’t arrive overnight. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.”

Chicago’s WTTW, a National Public Radio outlet, reported, ”Pritzker Compares Trump Administration’s Approach to Nazi Germany During State Budget Address.”