Overview
- During the White House Rose Garden event, Trump derided Gov. J. B. Pritzker as a “big, fat slob,” labeled Chicago’s mayor incompetent, and urged the state to ask for help to “make Chicago safe.”
- The White House followed with an official statement linking the CTA arson suspect’s record to state policies, asserting the man had 72 arrests and eight felony convictions.
- Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign fired back within an hour, blaming Trump’s tariffs and economic moves for higher Thanksgiving costs.
- Price claims diverge, with the Groundwork Collaborative citing a near 10% increase while the American Farm Bureau Federation reports a 5% national decline from 2024.
- The clash is framed by the Nov. 17 L train attack that critically injured a 26-year-old woman, which Trump cites in renewing offers to deploy federal resources, including the National Guard.