JB Pritzker Fires Back at Trump’s "Demented" Attacks on Chicago | Pivot

Scott Galloway 0:00 Good evening, Chicago.

Narrator 0:04 (cheering)

Scott Galloway 0:05 Greatest city in America. Well, welcome to the podca- ... Welcome to the podcast that cuts through all the spin. We're talking about Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway.

Narrator 0:21 (cheering)

Scott Galloway 0:24 Now these two break down the biggest stories and aren't afraid to call anyone out. Pivot is honest, informative, never boring. And that's why it's so smart that Kara and Scott have come to Chicago, 'cause this is a city that's always been about innovation, hard work, and telling it like it is.

Narrator 0:46 (cheering)

Kara Swisher 0:50 Go, Scott!

Scott Galloway 0:51 So no better place to be in the country than here in Chicago tonight. So please join me in welcoming Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway.

Narrator 1:02 (cheering)

Kara Swisher 1:14 I'm excited! Ugh. I, I, you know, Washington was a little louder, so let's try that again.

Narrator 1:28 Boo!

Kara Swisher 1:28 No. Oh, boo Washington. Oh, what do you think, I'm trump at a football game? Cut it out.

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Kara Swisher 4:00 Hi, everyone. Live from the Chicago Theatre,

Kara Swisher 4:03 this is Pivot from New York Magazine-

Narrator 4:05 (cheering)

Kara Swisher 4:05 ... and the Vox Media Podcast Network. (clapping) I'm Kara Swisher.

Scott Galloway 4:16 And I'm Scott Galloway.

Kara Swisher 4:18 And before we start I want to send, as he said, a big thank you to our sponsors, Odoo and Upwork. And please give a huge round of applause to tonight's special guest, Governor J.B. Pritzker.

Narrator 4:29 (cheering)

Kara Swisher 4:37 I think, I think you're popular. I'm not hearing booing. Um, uh, so we're gonna talk about a couple of things. Um,

Kara Swisher 4:45 I'll ask you at the end about Epstein. Apparently there was some news today.

Narrator 4:49 (laughing)

Kara Swisher 4:49 Any quick thoughts actually?

Narrator 4:52 (laughing)

Scott Galloway 4:53 There's nothing quick about it except Trump, Epstein, I think we know what happened there.

Narrator 4:58 Boo!

Kara Swisher 4:58 Okay. Um, it's really interesting, uh, just as they got back, and they did seat the representative, which pushed it over the edge, and actually others did join in. Um, we'll talk about it more, but, um, I wanna actually talk about Chicago and about the controversial immigration operations

Kara Swisher 5:13 that have taken place in the city. After nearly 60 days-

Narrator 5:17 Boo!

Kara Swisher 5:17 Agreed. Uh, Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino who's trying ... I guess he's trying to-

Narrator 5:24 Boo!

Kara Swisher 5:24 (laughs) He's trying to get cast as the guy, uh, that got his face melted in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Narrator 5:31 (laughing)

Kara Swisher 5:31 Um-

Scott Galloway 5:31 He's too short for that.

Narrator 5:36 (laughing)

Kara Swisher 5:36 Any, many of his agents are reportedly planning to leave as early as this week with the Trump administration's downshift-

Narrator 5:43 (cheering)

Kara Swisher 5:44 ... of Operation Midway Blitz. I don't know where they come up with these names. The summer cords indic- reports indicate that federal agents could return fourfold in the spring. I guess they want ... They can't take the weather, 'cause they're wimps, like you guys can. Um-

Scott Galloway 5:56 'Cause they're snowflakes.

Kara Swisher 5:57 Exactly.

Narrator 5:58 (laughing)

Kara Swisher 5:59 So how do you continue to navigate the push and pull on this strange federal immigration enforcement?

JB Pritzker 6:06 Well, let me start by saying, uh, and I really, uh, not pandering to this audience. It's the people of Chicago that have truly reacted to them-

Narrator 6:16 (cheering)

JB Pritzker 6:17 ... and protected our neighbors and our friends. People have come out. The number of whistles that have been purchased all acro-

Narrator 6:23 (applause)

JB Pritzker 6:23 ... and that people are using when they see unmarked vehicles and guys wearing masks. Uh, people are coming out of their homes. People who've never protested before, people who've never been engaged before, they're outraged and they're coming out to warn their neighbors and their friends, you know, "ICE is here. Be careful. Protect yourself. Know what your rights are." And the people of Chicago have just done a terrific job. For two months now they've been under siege by Customs and Border Patrol, by ICE, by Gregory Bavino, and, uh, and this city really stepped up, activated, peacefully protested, and has pushed back. I'm really proud of everyone.

Narrator 7:00 (applause)

Kara Swisher 7:00 So wh- how do you, how do you deal with this, working presumably with the mayor? But how do you... How, th- they don't call you, right? You don't know a lot.

JB Pritzker 7:08 They don't communicate at all. It's the first time that, uh, I think in my lifetime, uh, that the federal government isn't talking to the state government about s- operations that it wants to do in our state. And, uh, it's very frustrating. So we read things in the news that come from, you know, they've got this, uh, this, uh, lying spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, who literally, I mean, e- everything that comes out of her mouth is false. Uh, and that's how the news gets the information, and then we've gotta figure out what's true, not true in reality, and then tell the news, and of course react to it. So it's, it's very challenging. But I will say that, um, we've seen, uh, a lot of really terrible things on the ground. I think everybody here probably has witnessed something. Um, we've asked people, and they've reacted to it, to pull out their phones, their iPhones, their Android phones, and video everything you see. And you know what that's led to? Federal cases that we have won.

Narrator 8:13 (cheering)

JB Pritzker 8:13 Thank you.

Kara Swisher 8:14 So, so presumably you're not in touch with Kristi Noem, correct?

JB Pritzker 8:19 Yeah, Kristi doesn't call me. I don't know why.

Kara Swisher 8:21 No- now h- how does it usually work? I mean, some governor... Some people are asking, some of those sort of pandering, uh, officials want them to come in. Why, w- why do you think they targeted you? You're running, wh- because you might be running for president? What do you think is the...

JB Pritzker 8:37 I don't think they targeted me. I mean, Donald Trump has had a problem with Chicago for as long as anyone's heard anything out of his mouth, really. Um, he attacked Chicago. He did back in 2016. Uh, he does all the time. He has this idea in his head that everything's on fire here. He said the same about Portland, I might add. I'm not sure why, but... And guess what? Those are the first two cities, um-

Kara Swisher 8:59 Mm-hmm.

JB Pritzker 8:59 Well, beyond LA anyway, that they, uh, sent ICE and CBP into. Um, but I... All I can say is that, you know, they thought they were gonna be successful here. They have not been successful, again, thanks to the people of Chicago. And they're not just in Chicago. I wanna, uh, just give a shout-out. Um, you know, ICE and CBP really have been all over the state, uh, in the suburbs as well as down state. And there's a little town, I'll just tell you a quick story, a little town called Staunton, Illinois, in Central Illinois, where there's a, an undocumented man who's, uh, raised his family there. He's got a wife and kids. They go to school there. He owns a restaurant there. Uh, he's been in this country for 20-plus years. And, uh, they arrived in Staunton, Illinois, in Central Illinois, and they grabbed this guy and disappeared him for a whole day. His family didn't know where he went to. Uh, and the town of Staunton, 4,000 people live in this town, 500 people showed up to protest.

Narrator 10:02 (applause)

Kara Swisher 10:03 So where does... If they come back in the spring, what, what are your, what is your move if they come back with four times the force?

JB Pritzker 10:12 The unfortunate thing is that because of the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution, federal law enforcement has the ability to, as long as they are following federal law, and you oughta take note, they're not following federal law, but there's no one that's holding them accountable at the federal level. But they are allowed, they have d- uh, limited immunity as officers of the law, uh, even if they aren't following the law. And so they, it is very hard to push back on them. So the way that we've done it here is, number one, we've let- made sure everybody knows what their rights are. And I'm talking about undocumented people. And I bet we all know somebody, they overstayed their visa, something. They're here in this state for one reason or another, but have been here for a long time paying their taxes, following the law, raising their families. They're good neighbors and friends. They're, they're, they're workers. And, uh, they've been here quite a long time, and, and, you know, they, th- they're coming for... The- those are the people supposedly they're coming for-

Kara Swisher 11:10 Rather than criminals.

JB Pritzker 11:11 ... rather than the worst of the worst, which is what Donald Trump said that, that he was going after. Instead, they're stopping people who are, have brown skin or Black skin, and just asking them for their, uh, United States citizenship papers. I don't know about any of you, but I don't carry citizenship papers, and we shouldn't have to in this country.

Narrator 11:31 (applause)

Kara Swisher 11:31 So Scott?

Scott Galloway 11:36 So I, I'd,

Scott Galloway 11:37 um, voiced this to the governor when he was on the podcast. Every year I do a bucket list with my sons. I say, "It's our weekend. We can do whatever we want." My eldest wanted to go to a PSG game in Paris, and my youngest, we live in London, said, "I really wanna go to Chicago." (laughs)

Narrator 11:52 (cheering)

Scott Galloway 11:53 So we came here, steak house, batting cage, went to the tallest building in Chicago, which every kid has to do, uh, had a f- by the way, just had a fantastic weekend. If you think of cities and states as a product, right? You're a relatively high tax state, not the highest.Uh, you offer s- uh, services, economic opportunity, but pitch the product that is Illinois and Chicago. Like, why... As- as... Imagine you're a recent college grad with just a ton of options-

JB Pritzker 12:27 Yeah.

Scott Galloway 12:27 ... or an immigrant that has incredible human capital and could go anywhere, um, what's the pitch? Sell me on Illinois as a place to choose to spend my formative or young adult years.

JB Pritzker 12:42 I, I might add that I- I'll make the pitch, but I will tell you that this is the destination for most kids at universities in the Midwest. We have an enormous influx of people here from Michigan, from Indiana, from, uh, Missouri, and so on. P- People want to come to the City of Chicago, the young people-

Scott Galloway 13:02 Yeah.

JB Pritzker 13:03 ... uh, coming here. I mean, it's an exciting, vibrant city. Uh, I would say there are several things. I mean, first, if you're a young person, uh, we've got, you know, great jobs at tech companies. We are growing. Interesting, uh, fact I heard from Google, which is... Within Google... Maybe somebody here is from Google, um, but- Whoo! There you go. I heard that within Google, if you want to transfer around to one of the other offices, either 'cause your spouse is moving or whatever-

Scott Galloway 13:30 Right.

JB Pritzker 13:30 ... uh, the, the most requested place to move to in the United States is Chicago. (applauding) Whoo! And, and, and they just are... I don't know if any of you have seen, but they just, Google are moving to the center of the City of Chicago. They actually bought the building from us, from the State of Illinois, and they're redoing it, and it's gonna be absolutely gorgeous. So, um, it's a great, vibrant city where there are a lot of really good jobs, whether it's the tech businesses or, um, I'll just add, it's a great sports town. (applauding) Whoo!

Kara Swisher 14:03 Right.

JB Pritzker 14:05 And, uh, importantly, great place to raise your family, and I, I... Last thing is, I lived... You know, I, I've lived in, in lots of different places when I was younger. I lived in... Uh, went to school in North Carolina, you know, uh, lived in California, lived in Washington, DC, uh, lived in- just outside of Boston. So, a lot of different places, and I can say this, no more decent people in a big city than in the City of Chicago.

Kara Swisher 14:33 Right. Um, I think, I think Scott was looking for what's your favorite bar tip, but that's okay. Um, uh, one issue about the tr-

Kara Swisher 14:43 just this week, uh, President Trump said, "The Miracle Mile shopping center," which, in Chicago (laughing) -

JB Pritzker 14:49 (laughing)

Kara Swisher 14:49 ... I covered retail here, by the way, once covered our nation's- once considered our nation's best. It's now more than 28% vacancy factor and is ready to call it quits unless something is done about murder and crime, which is prevalent throughout the city. "CALL IN THE TROOPS FA-" This is in all caps. "CALL IN THE TROOPS FAST BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE." So, first of all, it's The Magnificent Mile. It's n- it's n-

JB Pritzker 15:10 Thank you.

Kara Swisher 15:10 It's not a shopping center. Um, and you said in response, and this was interesting, "The man is demented. He really has no idea what he's doing." Um-

JB Pritzker 15:23 (applauding) Whoo! Whoo!

Kara Swisher 15:25 That's an interesting choice of words, uh, but, but I would assume the city's capable of handling real estate vacancies without federal intervention.

JB Pritzker 15:34 Yeah, he... Look, he... Like I said, he loves to dump on the City of Chicago. Uh, the reality is that, that, uh, honestly, this state is on the rise. This city is on the ri-... We've got... We have a lot of really great things going for us, and it doesn't help when you have the President of the United States with some crazy notion of what the city is. He doesn't come here. Uh, I think if you a-... Y- you know, he's got such a bad rep with everybody in Chicago that if you ask most people, they'd like to tear the, the name Trump off that building of his. (applauding) Whoo! Uh-

Kara Swisher 16:12 You know what's wrong with it? The font is wrong. It's badly sized font. It really is. It's offensive.

JB Pritzker 16:17 It re- really-

Kara Swisher 16:18 Sorry.

JB Pritzker 16:19 Ye- yeah. Yeah. I, I... Yeah, there's-

Scott Galloway 16:21 (laughing)

JB Pritzker 16:21 ... other things that are wrong with Trump, but, uh, uh, but I, I, I will say this, that he's... You know, um, he likes to dump on us, but he, he just... He doesn't read. Apparently, he doesn't spend any time, yeah, trying to understand anything at all, and if he did... 'Cause he, he also put a tweet out or whatever his, I don't know-

Kara Swisher 16:41 Truth.

JB Pritzker 16:42 ... False, whatever it is, tru- social, um, uh, but he, he put something out, you know, where he was... He claimed credit for the last four years of crime coming down precipitously in the City of Chicago, and I mean, our, our, our homicide rate has been cut in half. And they've been here for two months, you know, not getting the worst of the worst off the streets, and he put out something today or yesterday claiming that any success we've had has been because of him. And a- again, uh, all I can say is, he doe-... He should... You know, I wish he... Well, I don't really wish he would spend more time here. (laughing) Uh, but, but I mean, if he understood this city, uh, you know, like most people who come here and spend any time here, it's a great city, and, and he should know it. But, um, I- I, uh... Anyway, I'm, I'm, I'm frustrated by everything-

Kara Swisher 17:33 You stick with demented. You stick with demented.

JB Pritzker 17:35 I gotta stick with demented. I, uh... I mean, otherwise... Like, l- almost everything that comes out of his mouth is false. So, uh, I'm frustrated because he's got the biggest bully pulpit in the world, and he's, you know, talking crap about the City of Chicago, and a- all I can say is, I mean, the... All the people... I bet a lot of people that are in the audience here moved to the City of Chicago and will vouch for the city with everyone you know.

Narrator 18:04 Support for the show comes from Odoo. Running a business is hard enough, and you don't need to make it harder with a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. Before you know it, you find yourself drowning in software and processes instead of focusing on what matters: growing your business. This is where Odoo comes in. It's the only business software you'll ever need. Odoo is an all-in-one, fully integrated platform that handles everything. That means CRM, accounting, inventory, e-commerce, HR, and more. No more app overload. No more juggling logins. Just one seamless system that makes work easier. And the best part is that Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. It's built to grow with your business, whether you're just starting out or you're already scaling up. Plus, it's easy to use, customizable, and designed to streamline every process. It's time to put the clutter aside and focus on what really matters: running your business. Thousands of businesses have made the switch, so why not you? Try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's O-D-O-O.com.

Kara Swisher 19:07 This country's in the middle of a massive redistricting war. The term, "control of Congress." Apparently, the Republicans might actually

Kara Swisher 19:13 lose seats now, uh, through their redistricting because they're turning pink or purple, e- especially in Texas. But they're only up a half a seat right now, and possibly down four through their efforts. But Illinois, what, what, what is going to happen here?

JB Pritzker 19:28 Well, I've been... (laughs)

Narrator 19:30 Yeah!

JB Pritzker 19:30 Say, we're going to take a poll tonight. Um, I...

Kara Swisher 19:34 (laughs)

JB Pritzker 19:34 You know, they, they're going state by state, right, uh, Republicans are, and trying to get... Well, Donald Trump is trying to get the governors and the Republican legislatures to redistrict. And Indiana, right next door to us, has been on again, off again, on again. They're, they're trying to do it. Uh, and what I've said is that... And there's been a pairing of states, by the way. Missouri is trying to do it, and therefore Maryland might do it in order to cancel out Missouri. California did it to cancel out Texas. Uh, you know, if Indiana does it, and they're going to meet in December to decide, I, I think that would push Illinois toward redistricting.

Narrator 20:14 (applause) Yeah!

JB Pritzker 20:16 So, uh-

Kara Swisher 20:17 Um-

JB Pritzker 20:17 But I will, I will add we have 14 Democrats out of 17 seats, so, um-

Narrator 20:22 Oh, my God.

JB Pritzker 20:22 ... we're doing okay. Democrats are doing okay in this state.

Narrator 20:26 So, uh, two questions. First

Narrator 20:28 is, do you think the seven Democratic senators should have voted to end the shutdown?

Scott Galloway 20:32 No! Go! Damn it.

JB Pritzker 20:38 There were eight, by the way. Eight.

Narrator 20:39 Excuse me.

JB Pritzker 20:40 Um, and, uh, and I know every single one of those people. Uh, and I can tell you that... I mean, that, that's probably the biggest mistake I've seen maybe in my political career.

Narrator 20:52 (applause) Whoo!

JB Pritzker 20:53 Um, it was the wrong thing to do. Uh, Democrats won eight days ago everywhere in the country that there was a, an election.

Narrator 21:01 Yeah.

JB Pritzker 21:01 And I, I would have thought that would stiffen their spines in the United States Senate, not loosen them. And unfortunately, we saw people who are retiring... It makes no sense to me. People that are retiring, who have really nothing politically to lose, uh, and should have-

Kara Swisher 21:19 Oh, it's part of a scheme presumably, right?

JB Pritzker 21:21 It's, it's a scheme. Exactly. Right.

Kara Swisher 21:22 Yeah.

JB Pritzker 21:23 Uh, but I, I'm frustrated. And, and, uh, you know, I, I... You know, one of them was our senior senator here. I was, I was disa-

Scott Galloway 21:33 Boo!

JB Pritzker 21:33 I was very disappointed. He, he's had a... He's really done a lot of good things for this state-

Narrator 21:37 Yeah, good man.

JB Pritzker 21:38 ... and a lot of good things for the country. I was disappointed in his decision to do that. Our other senator, who I think extraordinarily highly of, also criticized the senior senator. Her name is Tammy Duckworth. She did a great job and voted against it.

Scott Galloway 21:50 (applause) Yeah! Yeah!

Kara Swisher 21:50 So, why do you think... Why do, why do you think they did it? What was your theory? I mean, there was all these theories of game the-

Scott Galloway 21:57 That's right!

Kara Swisher 21:57 Uh, I understand, but there's also these game theory things that's out there they're trying to push.

JB Pritzker 22:00 I think many of them had co- And you s- heard them, some of them, at press conferences yesterday. Um, I think they came to the conclusion that s- that, you know, this has gone on for so long that it's hurting people, and that they could rescue the country from this situation. But the reality is, the guy who created this problem is Donald Trump. And he's the guy who refused to sit down with Democrats... By the way, what was he doing? Why did he hold out and not sit down with Democrats and go along with... He wanted to shut the government down. Why? And the reason... I mean, this is the crazy thing. He wants to deny people food in order to force the country to accept less healthcare. I mean, what is the li-... Y- your job as President of the United States is to make people's lives better. Democrats just wanted healthcare, r- a res- restoration of affordable healthcare. That's all Democrats wanted. And Donald Trump was willing to starve people in order to hold to his position. You know, it's, it's, it's arguably one of the best, uh, campaign slogans of the 21st century, is that we would... You know, that Democrats are the ones who are fighting for people to get fed and get healthcare, and that it's the Republicans and Donald Trump who are willing to stand against it. And so, I don't get it.

Kara Swisher 23:20 Why did the senators do it-

JB Pritzker 23:20 I really don't get it.

Kara Swisher 23:21 ... though? Why did the Democ-

JB Pritzker 23:22 I, I... Again, I thought... I think that they felt like were running up against Thanksgiving-

Kara Swisher 23:27 Right. Okay.

JB Pritzker 23:27 ... that people aren't going to be able to get their flights to wherever it is that they want to go, that, that the public will hold both parties, and maybe Democrats more so for some reason, uh, responsible. But the reality is that that's not what was happening, right? I mean, Republicans, rightly so, they're in control. They've literally got every branch of government in their hands, and they are the ones responsible for this. And yet, these eight decided to give in. I... It is too bad. You know, the Democrats... People rely upon Democrats to do the responsible thing all the time. Guess what? Who, who's doing that? The Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump are the ones who are, w- y- you know, "We've got to go do the right thing so that they can get away with murder."

Kara Swisher 24:11 So, um, two more quick questions. One, we talked to Governor Healey

Kara Swisher 24:15 in Boston about their efforts to make Massachusetts an AI hub. You're leaning into quantum computing. Talk really briefly about the strategy here.

JB Pritzker 24:23 So yeah. We've got, we've got... First of all, we've got some of the best institutions in the entire country, uh, for building quantum and AI. We've got Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Northwestern. Uh, not to mention, as I, I mentioned those mid- those Midwest institutions, Purdue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, et cetera. All great places, right? Yeah. And people come here to Chicago. They want- Yeah. ... to come here. So we have all the makings of it to begin with. Second, University of Chicago came to me in 2019, uh, wanting to build out what's called the Chicago Quantum Xchange. And I had just passed or was about to pass a, a major infrastructure bill for the state, one that hadn't been passed... I mean, we hadn't had anything like that really ever in our history. Uh, and asked if we would invest in making Illinois and the Chicago Quantum Xchange, uh, the, the, the hub of quantum for the country. And I insisted that the University of Illinois be the partner in that endeavor. And putting that together and then we, we're now building a quantum campus. That has made... That has really put us on the map. That there, there are three states that are going after being the quantum hub of the country, Colorado, Maryland and Illinois, and we are in the lead.

Kara Swisher 25:38 Okay.

Narrator 25:38 (applause)

25:39 Hey, Kara?

Narrator 25:40 Can I do a quick-

Kara Swisher 25:41 Sure.

Narrator 25:41 ... thing? So, I want you to imagine that you're a popular governor and you decide to run for president.

Kara Swisher 25:47 Yeah, that's the question I was gonna ask. Go for it.

JB Pritzker 25:49 Uh, what am I imagining? What, what was that?

Kara Swisher 25:51 Running for president.

JB Pritzker 25:52 Oh.

Narrator 25:52 I just wanna do a lightning round, quick responses, gut response on some policy ideas. Uh, mandatory national service.

JB Pritzker 26:02 We've got to train people for the jobs of the future. I believe that doing some kind of service, uh, allowing people to go to trade school potentially in that service, right, whether it's... So we're not talking necessarily about military service-

Narrator 26:16 Okay.

JB Pritzker 26:16 ... but just serving the country. We've got a whole lot of infrastructure that get, needs to get built. I think that would be a great way for-

Narrator 26:22 Okay.

JB Pritzker 26:22 ... people to operate.

Narrator 26:23 Uh, lower eligibility for Medicare by three years every year in office such that it's 41 by the time you leave. Basically, a move towards nationalized or socialized medicine.

JB Pritzker 26:34 (applause)

Narrator 26:35 Whoo.

Kara Swisher 26:35 Lowering it every couple of years.

Narrator 26:36 Socialized medicine.

Kara Swisher 26:37 Socialized medicine. Lowering Medicare.

JB Pritzker 26:40 Oh, I'm for universal healthcare. I've been... I'm, I'm... I believe everybody deserves to have a doctor and have a-

Narrator 26:45 Fair enough. Universal, universal childcare.

JB Pritzker 26:48 You're... Are you kidding me? I, I came-

Narrator 26:49 Okay.

JB Pritzker 26:49 ... into office with 25-

Narrator 26:51 Raise federal-

JB Pritzker 26:51 ... years of childcare and, uh, and, uh, early-

Narrator 26:52 Raise federal minimum wage-

Kara Swisher 26:53 (applause)

Narrator 26:54 ... from $7.25 to, say, $20 or $25 an hour. What was the question?

Kara Swisher 26:57 Raise the minimum wage.

JB Pritzker 26:58 Oh, oh. Are you kidding? This is my topic. Um, uh, you know, $14,000 a year, no one can live on anymore. That's $7.25. That is the national minimum wage. So if you don't live in a state like Illinois where I helped to raise it to $15 an hour, you are living in poverty and holding down a full-time, probably two full-time jobs, making $28,000 a year if you work two full-time jobs, unable to really raise your family while you're doing it if you're working two jobs. Uh, and so I... Yeah, I'm a big believer that we've got to raise the national minimum wage $7.25. By the way, greatest-

Kara Swisher 27:35 To what?

JB Pritzker 27:36 ... political issue-

Kara Swisher 27:37 To what?

JB Pritzker 27:37 ... ever.

Kara Swisher 27:37 To what minimum wage?

JB Pritzker 27:38 Well, at least $15. That's what we've done here in the state of Illinois. Y- and by the way, hundreds of thousands of people no longer live in poverty in the state of Illinois because we raised the minimum wage.

Narrator 27:49 (applause)

27:49 Last question. A massive increase in support, armaments, long-range missiles, and potentially boots on the ground to Ukraine.

JB Pritzker 28:00 Well, I don't want to send boots on the ground. I think that we have an oppor- we had an opportunity under... with, with Joe Biden in office. He was doing the right thing. Look, they should fight their own war, but we should support them because, uh, I mean, Russia is not our friend. And Russia wants a piece of the rest of Europe, and it is Ukraine that stands in the way. And so we ought to be supporting, uh, the nation of Ukraine. Donald Trump walked away and has let, uh, Vladimir Putin essentially kill hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine. And, and now... You know, and he says, oh, he's such a great peacemaker. He hasn't made peace anywhere. He's basically just sided with one side, let them blow over their competition, their, their, their enemy, and then, you know, that's-

Narrator 28:44 All right.

JB Pritzker 28:45 ... that's the way he-

Narrator 28:45 I lied.

JB Pritzker 28:46 ... makes peace.

Narrator 28:46 I lied. Last one. Removal of Section 230 protection for algorithmically elevated content.

JB Pritzker 28:52 (applause) Social media. I mean, this is pre- probably the, probably the, the biggest danger to young people in this country.

Kara Swisher 29:02 Mm-hmm.

JB Pritzker 29:02 We have got to put some limits. I tried to pass a, a law last spring. Uh, we're gonna try again this year, uh, that would ban cell phones in classrooms across the state. (applause)

Kara Swisher 29:16 That's an easy one.

JB Pritzker 29:18 And that, that's the way we can do it in the state of Illinois, but there's a whole lot the federal government ought to be doing.

Narrator 29:23 Thank you.

Kara Swisher 29:23 All right. So how close are you to a presidential run? And tell me in numbers. Like three months, six months?

JB Pritzker 29:31 Whoo. Do it. We, we (laughs) ... We... I love being governor of Illinois. I'm running for reelection-

Kara Swisher 29:37 All right, yeah, yeah.

JB Pritzker 29:37 ... by the way.

Kara Swisher 29:39 Blah-blah-de-blah-blah-blah.

JB Pritzker 29:41 What, blah, blah, blah?

Kara Swisher 29:41 Blah, blah.

JB Pritzker 29:41 What, what, uh... Uh.

Kara Swisher 29:41 Give me a num-... You're running for president.

JB Pritzker 29:42 We've got a great bench. What else do you want me to tell you? We've got a great... Democrats have probably the greatest bench that we've had for quite some time in... for 2028.

Kara Swisher 29:49 I don't know. I think, I think you're running for president, so you can go now.

JB Pritzker 29:53 (laughs)

Kara Swisher 29:53 Um, no. (laughs) Um, looking good. I'm just saying. You're slimming down. You're looking good. I'm just... Anyway, thank you, Governor Pritzker. We'll let you get back to work.

JB Pritzker 30:03 (applause)

Kara Swisher 30:03 Let's have a round of applause.

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