If a Democrat like Illinois Governor JB Pritzker goes to New Hampshire more than three years before a presidential election, it’s pretty obvious that they are testing the waters for a potential run.

Pritzker, who has been Illinois’s governor since being elected in 2018, is not term-limited and can run again in 2026 to keep his job. And he very well might – but it’s obvious that he is just one of several Democrat governors who have their eyes on running for president in 2028. Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro, and Gretchen Whitmer have all had their names tossed around as possible Democrat candidates. Pritzker, who is already a billionaire (and yet Democrats have no problem with Pritzker’s wealth because he’s on THEIR side) and bragged about it during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, has the money to bankroll a possible presidential campaign.

What Pritzker needs isn’t money, but momentum. Headlining in New Hampshire is a way for him top see if he’s got any of that.

Pritzker, who has become one of his party’s most vocal critics of the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump during the first three months of his second tour in the White House, is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination.

And trips to New Hampshire — which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election.

“We’ve got to be ready for the fight,” Pritzker said when asked by Fox News Digital what his message will be when he delivers the keynote address at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club dinner.

The governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, argued that the nation is “in a constitutional crisis” and that “we have too many people who are ill affected by the policies of the Trump administration.”

“This is the moment for people to stand up and fight,” he added.

Pritzker, 60, is the first potential Democratic presidential hopeful to visit New Hampshire, or any other early primary state, since Democrats lost the White House and their Senate majority and failed to retake the House in November.

This week will mark President Trump’s first 100 days in office of his second term. Is it too early for any Democrat to really be serious about running in 2028? Are we now forever locked in a perpetual election cycle? Honestly, that would be so draining. But it does seem like Pritzker is trying to position himself for a run – the way AOC is currently going about positioning herself for a possible run. The strategy? Directly oppose the president, give speeches, and get in front of crowds and donors.

The speech Pritzker gave ticked off all the “resistance” boxes. But is he dancing over the rhetorical line into calls for direct action that could turn violent?

The billionaire Democratic governor repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet with acidic attacks on the morals and ethics of the president, adviser and top donor Elon Musk, as well as members of the president’s Cabinet. He slammed their efforts to dismantle government programs that the most vulnerable Americans rely on and said the Democratic Party must “abandon the culture of incrementalism that has led us to swallow their cruelty.” It is time for his party, he said, to “knock the rust off poll-tested language” that has obscured “our better instincts.”

Pritzker was most searing in his condemnation of what he cast as the Trump administration’s infringement on the rights enshrined in the Constitution, stating that it should be easy for Democrats to say “it’s wrong to snatch a person off the street and ship them to a foreign gulag with no chance to defend themselves in a court of law.”

“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now,” Pritzker said to a standing ovation accompanied by whistles and cheers from the audience. “These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They must understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soap box and then punish them at the ballot box.”

Calling out Trump’s “xenophobia” and thirst for power, the Illinois governor said Democrats must “stop thinking we can reason or negotiate with a madman.” His hope, he added, is that Republicans who enable Trump “feel in their bones that when we survive this shameful episode of American history” that their portraits will be relegated “to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traitors.”

Turning to his own party, Pritzker argued that Democrats have spent too long listening to voices who “would tell you that the house is not on fire, even as they feel the flames licking their face” and called out politicians “whose simpering timidity served as a kindle for the arsonists” with the blaze now reaching “the rafters.”

Does this sound “fiery but mostly peaceful” to anyone else? Or like “you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price“? And Pritzker is either intentionally or unintentionally copying Rachel Zegler’s call for Republicans to “never know peace.” So, what is he asking for, exactly?

"It's time to fight everywhere and all at once" Pritzker says, blasting "the do nothing crowd" of Dems in response to Republicans:

"We have to abandon the culture of incrementalism that has led us to swallow their cruelty and their callousness with barely a cowardly croak." https://t.co/nbYANw9tqb

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) April 28, 2025

They'll pretend that this isn't a call for violence. https://t.co/dnB5nwg62X

— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) April 28, 2025

Where does Pritzker think these “mass protests,” “mobilization,” and “disruption” should take place? Chicago? Does he want more Teslas burned or vandalized? Does he want marches in the streets against deportations (with immigration being Trump’s single best winning issue right now)? What, exactly, is the billionaire governor wanting from Democrats? Rioting in the streets?

Is the third generation billionaire heir calling for violence against political enemies oligarchy or does that one not count?

— Carl Paulus (@CarlPaulus) April 28, 2025

Obviously, Pritzker will not get called out by the media for his overheated and vague language, because the same group that professes to be shocked, SHOCKED, by the coverup of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline sees nothing wrong with calling for “disruption” and his political opponents not knowing peace. The Washington Post called this speech “a fiery address” by Pritzker. The AP said he “criticized” Trump and “rebuked” Democrats. They’re not going to get worked up about it. Pritzker’s words will get play in right-leaning media, and then it will disappear, like so much hot air.

Pritzker’s position as governor, and his wealth, mean that he could definitely mount a presidential campaign. The language he employed is designed to make him sound like a tough guy who wants action, but is just vague enough to keep him from being blamed if someone decides to act on his rhetoric. Pritzker’s problem is that he isn’t unique – he sounds like all the other Democrats looking to make a name for themselves at the moment. And no one will look at Illinois and call it a shining example of how a state should be run. For all his money, Pritzker is less interesting and attractive as a candidate than someone like AOC – which is why he’s doing speeches like this. He wants to get a corner on the Democrat establishment, but he’s failing to realize that that same establishment is beholden to the activist class that AOC is courting.

What is true right now is that the Democrats are desperately flailing around for a leader to follow, and none of the current crop of Democrats with presidential aspirations are inspiring others to follow them. The 2028 Democrat primaries will be a full on, knives out, political gladiator match that will end up drawing proverbial blood. And unfortunately for all the normies out there, the jockeying for position within the Democrat party looks like it’s starting now.

Featured image: Illinois Army National Guard/ U.S. D.O.D./Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Public Domain