By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump has revived his criticism of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker over crime, and Pritzker has fired back by blasting Trump over Thanksgiving dinner prices.

The president spoke at the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning outside the White House Tuesday. Referring to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as well as the governor, Trump said crime in Chicago is out of control.

“The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big, fat slob. He ought to invite us in, say, ‘Please make Chicago safe,’” Trump said.

Trump said Pritzker is not letting the federal government do the job.

“Some speechwriter wrote some joke about his weight, but I would never want to talk about his weight. I don’t talk about people being fat. I refuse to talk about the fact that he’s a fat slob. I don’t mention it,” Trump said.

The president then added that he would like to lose a few pounds himself.

Less than hour later, Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign released a statement saying the president was ruining Thanksgiving dinners with soaring prices.

“Instead of focusing on quality time together, families are being forced to worry about rising costs, driven by the Trump administration’s nonsensical tariffs and damaging economic policies. This means families across the country are being forced to decide what they can and can’t afford to put on the table this Thanksgiving, just to make ends meet,” the statement said.

Pritzker claimed that Thanksgiving costs are up nearly 10% this year and cited a report by Groundwork Collaborative.

According to the group’s website, “Groundwork uses storytelling and strategic communications to reframe economic debates and drive a more inclusive narrative about the economy.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 40th annual Thanksgiving dinner survey does not support Groundwork’s claims.

The AFBA said the average cost of a classic holiday meal for 10 people decreased to $55.18, a 5% drop from 2024. The Illinois Farm Bureau found that the average price of the holiday meal for 10 in Illinois is $49.20.

During his speech Tuesday, Trump called out “liberal judges” after a man with more than 70 previous arrests was charged with setting a Chicago train passenger on fire Nov. 17.

A suspect with a long criminal history allegedly left the victim critically injured by setting her on fire aboard a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train.

“They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train. A man was arrested 72 times. 72 times, think of that, and they’ll let him out again. The liberal judges will let him out again,” Trump said.

The White House later issued a statement titled, “72 Arrests Wasn’t Enough — Democrats Let Him Burn Her Alive.”

The statement said the CTA fire suspect had eight felony convictions in addition to 72 arrests.

“This animal was walking free because of the radical, dangerous ‘no cash bail’ law proudly signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and celebrated by Chicago’s defund-the-police Mayor Brandon Johnson. Just three months ago, after this same monster was arrested for another violent crime, a county judge cut him loose on electronic monitoring — a condition he repeatedly violated with zero consequences right up to the day he lit an innocent woman on fire,” the statement said.

Speaking at the White House, the president said his administration is ready to help Chicago.

“We could make Chicago a safe city in a period of four weeks. In a period of eight weeks, nine weeks, ten weeks it would be totally safe,” Trump promised.