JB Pritzker says Trump ‘is trying to rig these elections’: Full interview

[0:02] Welcome back. Joining me now is the Democratic governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker. [0:07] Governor Pritzker, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:11] Good to be with you. [0:12] It's good to have you here on a big Sunday. Let me ask you about the state of play. [0:17] How confident are you that Democrats can win back control of the Senate, Governor? [0:22] Well, the energy on the ground, not just in Illinois, but across the country, is very high. [0:29] We're seeing an overperformance of Latino voters, overperformance of young voters, of black voters. [0:36] This is good for Democrats. And I can say that the energy is just high. [0:42] I mean, you can you can feel it at the rallies across the country and even here in Illinois. [0:47] You can tell because we've got overperformance in early voting that we haven't seen. [0:52] Frankly, we're outperforming 2018, which is a pretty high performance year. [0:56] Well, we're talking about reliably red states like Texas, where you have a hotly contested Senate race and also gubernatorial race there. [1:05] Governor, do you think Democrats actually have a shot at winning the governor's race in Texas? [1:11] I do. You can see that Gina Hinojosa is running a great campaign and she's running against someone that, frankly, people are tired of. [1:20] Greg Abbott has been doing terrible things for middle class and working class people in his state. [1:26] Gina Hinojosa is promising to lift them up and to stand against the policies that are brought on them by, well, Elon Musk, who's trying to buy that election for Greg Abbott. [1:38] And then look at Georgia, by the way. [1:40] Keisha Lance Bottoms is ahead by a point, I think, in the latest polls. [1:45] And it looks like she's going to do great. [1:47] They both got top of the ticket Senate candidates who are outperforming. [1:52] And then look at Kansas, Nebraska. [1:55] You're even seeing Scott Colombe in Mississippi running tied. [1:59] Mississippi, for goodness sakes. [2:01] So I think that Democrats are going to do great all across the country. [2:04] Well, let's talk about Alaska. [2:06] You've heard me talk about that with my previous two guests. [2:08] Your fellow governor there is saying he might not certify the midterm election results should the Republican lose that race because there are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot. [2:18] If you were in the same position, governor, if this were happening in your state, would you certify that race? [2:26] It's important for us to recognize that that governor is being influenced by Donald Trump. [2:31] Donald Trump, of course, wants to prosecute all of his opponents. [2:36] He's threatened to jail me. [2:38] He, frankly, just brings up the law now as a weapon and uses his DOJ against Democrats across the country. [2:47] So what I can tell you is that that election will go off on Tuesday. [2:53] We will see a winner, and that winner should be certified. [2:56] We Democrats don't stand against the idea of counting all the votes. [3:00] And I can tell you that we've all seen across the country that there are people with the same name who sometimes run in races, and there's nothing illegal about it. [3:09] And these elections are run by the states, by their election authorities. [3:13] And I believe that Mary Peltola will win and should be certified. [3:17] All right. [3:17] Well, I want to play something that you said about election integrity a few weeks ago and get your reaction on the other side. [3:23] If Democrats don't win, if they don't win in this election, we may not have other elections, or certainly we're going to have future elections, every single one of which will be rigged. [3:35] Are you saying that all future elections will only be fair if Democrats win? [3:39] Was that the implication there? [3:42] No. [3:42] The implication here is that Donald Trump is trying to rig these elections. [3:46] And if he's able to do so, then you are going to see Republican majorities, which just follow Donald Trump's lead no matter what he says, making sure that Democrats really don't have a chance in so many places across the country. [4:01] It is Donald Trump that has tried to redistrict all over the country, and we've had to push back. [4:07] Look at what happened in Texas. [4:09] Look at how California had to respond. [4:12] Indiana almost redistricted. [4:14] We threatened in Illinois that we would if they did. [4:17] You're seeing Maryland having to go do this because Missouri and other states are on the verge of doing it. [4:24] This is really troubling. [4:26] And it shouldn't be that the president of the United States or that one political party is trying to rig the elections. [4:32] That's what I'm concerned about. [4:33] So that's why everybody's got to get out and vote. [4:35] And I do see that people really are. [4:37] The early voting is just off the charts. [4:40] Let me ask you about this big debate unfolding inside the Democratic Party. [4:44] If Democrats do, in fact, win back control of Congress, the discussion over whether they would move to impeach President Trump for a third time. [4:52] Some of your fellow Illinois friends have said that they don't think it's a good idea. [4:59] Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Senator Tammy Duckworth, says it would backfire. [5:04] Do you agree with them that another impeachment would backfire against Democrats? [5:08] Well, here's what I think there need to be hearings because there's so much corruption. [5:14] The corruption is even at a higher level than the, you know, than the costs and cruelty that Donald Trump is bringing. [5:21] So hearings, not impeachment, Governor? [5:23] Hearings, not impeachment? [5:24] Well, the hearings will uncover things and then some decisions will have to get made about that. [5:30] But the American public doesn't know the extent of the corruption. [5:34] I think many of us paying very close attention do. [5:36] But the American public needs to see what the corruption is so that the Congress can pass laws and possibly even an amendment to the Constitution that limits the, well, I would just call it the massive, massive profiteering that the president of the United States is able to do and is doing now with his family and his close friends. [5:55] Well, let me ask you, Governor, because you are in your own race for re-election there in Illinois. [6:01] If you win on Tuesday, you're going to serve out your full term. [6:07] Yeah, my focus is on what's best for the people of Illinois. [6:10] I'm running for re-election here because we've made a lot of progress, but there's still more progress to go. [6:16] And so that's what I'm focused on. [6:18] And of course, 2028 looming large. [6:20] You think you're going to run for president? [6:22] Are you considering it? [6:23] What I can say is that because that election is so important, I'm going to work my tail off to make sure that we have a Democrat who will win and make sure that that Democrat does, in fact, win. [6:36] And I've done that in every presidential election really since I was an adult and able to vote. [6:42] So I'll continue on that path. [6:45] And I'm excited about the prospects, though, of the election that's just two days from now when I believe that Democrats will take the House and the Senate. [6:53] All right, Governor, I don't hear you ruling it out. [6:56] Not ruling it out. [6:57] Fair to say. [6:57] Again, it's all about what's best for the people of Illinois, and that's why I'm running for re-election as governor. [7:04] All right, Governor, thank you so much for joining us. [7:06] Governor Pritzker, really appreciate it.