Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker told CNN that President Joe Biden rescued Illinois "from an insurrection." He made the comments during an interview regarding Biden's performance in the recent debate against former President Donald Trump.
"He's been terrific for my state," Pritzker said. "Remember he rescued us from, well, an insurrection. And then, from an economy that could have cratered. And of course, from a health crisis that killed too many people under Donald Trump."
"So I think very highly of the President and that's why I've support him," he said. "He's our nominee. Unless he makes a different decision, I'm on board and I'm supporting the President."
The Presidential debate on June 27 was the first time a campaign debate had be held between a former president and current president. A CNN poll from after the debate reported 67% of viewers considered Trump to be the winner. The same poll from after the 2020 debate between Trump and Biden had 39% of viewers viewing Trump as the winner.
Pritzker told CNN reporters that the reason the polls were so low after the debate was because "we haven't heard a lot from [Biden] since." Pritzker also said regardless of Biden's "debate performance," he still supports the incumbent president over Trump, who Pritzker called a "congenital liar."
The U.S. Supreme Court said in its Fischer v. U.S. decision that the hundreds of Americans who were let into the U.S. Capitol by U.S. Capitol Police were wrongly charged with "obstruction of justice" and sent to federal prison. Those convictions are now false, and the decision also downgrades the event from being labeled as an "insurrection" to a situation of "mass trespassing."
A list of possible Democrat politicians that could replace Biden on the ticket includes Pritzker, who assumed office in 2019 and was reelected as governor in the 2022 election. Pritzker has previously created a nonprofit advocacy group to fund and support abortion rights ballot measures across the country. He regularly posts about Trump on his X account, most recently calling him a "34-count convicted felon who cares only about himself."
Of all potential replacements for Joe Biden, which include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pritzker polls the lowest in a head to head matchup with Trump, winning 43 percent.
The Democrat party could use an open nomination process at their Democratic National Convention to vote in a new candidate, which would require some delegates whose states selected Biden in the primary to choose another candidate.
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