In an escalating verbal skirmish, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) has leveled accusations against President Donald Trump, claiming the latter exhibits signs of dementia and urgently calling for the invocation of the 25th Amendment. This exchange follows Trump’s controversial decision to deploy federal agents along with a contingent of National Guard troops to Chicago, ostensibly to combat escalating crime and illegal immigration while safeguarding ICE personnel and facilities.
Governor Pritzker’s ire was sparked by Trump’s remarks made earlier on Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico, where he suggested that cities plagued by crime, including Chicago, could serve as a “training ground” for National Guard troops. According to Trump, these locales offer invaluable experience ahead of what he described as imminent military action.
Trump to top military officials: “I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military. National Guard, but our military. Because we’re going into Chicago very soon. That’s a big city with an incompetent governor. Stupid governor.” pic.twitter.com/v9gb2OhhcJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2025
Addressing reporters at a food insecurity event alongside Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), Pritzker did not mince words when discussing Trump’s mental fitness. He stated, “It appears that Donald Trump not only has dementia set in, but he’s copying tactics of Vladimir Putin. Sending troops into cities is just frankly inane, and I’m concerned for his health.”
ILLINOIS GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D): “It appears that Donald Trump not only has dementia set in, but he’s copying tactics of Vladimir Putin. Sending troops into cities, thinking that that’s some sort of proving ground for war or that indeed there’s some sort of internal war going on… pic.twitter.com/oGxa5xBl96
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) September 30, 2025
In a further escalation, Pritzker explicitly called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked during the press conference, asserting, “There is something genuinely wrong with this man and the 25th Amendment ought to be invoked.”
The complete video of the press conference featuring Johnson and Pritzker begins at 53:45.
Governor Pritzker attends the launch of Food Security for Life, started by the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the City Colleges of Chicago to end hunger among their students https://t.co/fKmoQJV7u1
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) September 30, 2025
For those wondering about the mechanics of the 25th Amendment: it outlines a procedure for declaring a sitting president incapacitated when the Vice President and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments agree on such a declaration. Upon submission of this written declaration, the Vice President assumes the role of Acting President until the matter is resolved, for all its complexities that could rival any political thriller.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Interestingly, this call for the 25th Amendment is not isolated. Last week, music icon and vocal Trump critic Bruce Springsteen echoed similar sentiments in an interview with Time magazine, stating that Trump embodies the very essence of what the 25th Amendment was designed to confront. Springsteen’s critique underscores a growing frustration among those who oppose Trump, positing that without congressional action, the former president could continue to operate unchecked.
Bruce Springsteen keeps slamming Donald Trump because “a lot of people bought into his lies.”
“He doesn’t care about anybody but himself and the multibillionaires who stood behind him on Inauguration Day… You have to face the fact that a good number of Americans are simply comfortable with his politics of power and dominance,” Springsteen told TIME. “He’s the living personification of what the 25th Amendment and impeachment were for. If Congress had any guts, he’d be consigned to the trash heap of history.”
Bruce Springsteen keeps slamming Donald Trump because “a lot of people bought into his lies.”
“He doesn’t care about anybody but himself and the multibillionaires who stood behind him on Inauguration Day… You have to face the fact that a good number of Americans are simply… pic.twitter.com/of9riuMAEx
— Variety (@Variety) September 25, 2025
