Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said he believes President Donald Trump is suffering from cognitive problems ― and that his condition is getting worse.
“I think the man has dementia,” he told Politico, then gestured to his head as he added: “I don’t really understand how it works up there for him.”
Pritzker, who took office in 2019, dealt with Trump during his previous term, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he’s noticed a difference, even though he hasn’t dealt with Trump directly since he returned to the White House.
“Oh my goodness, this time it’s much more pronounced,” he said. “And, from day one, during the campaign, I think I felt that.”
“I think it’s kind of a sad state of affairs because someone who’s suffering from dementia — they genuinely need help, and there’s no one around him who wants to help him. All those people are just sycophants. They just love their jobs. They don’t want to get fired from their jobs. They know that at any moment, he could just flick them away.”
Pritzker is widely considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, and often engages in verbal sparring with Trump. The president, in turn, frequently mocks Pritzker’s weight.
“He doesn’t seem to like me,” Pritzker told Politico. “He mentions me very often and sometimes, completely out of the blue. He’s not talking about Illinois, he’s not talking about Chicago. Somehow, I pop up in his head, and he wants to take after me.”
Trump has seemed especially conscious of accusations that he is facing cognitive decline, to the point where he frequently brings up ― unprompted ― the number of times he’s taken the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which checks for early signs of impairment and dementia.
“I’ve taken three,” he boasted earlier this week. “No president, think of this, has ever taken one.”
He brought the tests up again last week, insisting he “aced all of them.”
But he hasn’t convinced his critics, as several other Democratic figures ― including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and others ― have all questioned the president’s cognitive function.
At least two members of Trump’s previous administration have also said the president appears to be in decline.