PAUL VALLAS: Pritzker And Johnson The Modern Face Of Hypocritical Political Posturing

Unveiling in Illinois we see the signature of modern political gaslighting and moral posturing without moral clarity. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson both engage in performative indignation; they feign outrage, sling accusations and vilify opponents, anything to avoid offering solutions, being accountable for results or admitting the truth.

Pritzker rarely misses a chance to compare President Donald Trump, his administration, and even his supporters to Hitler’s Nazis. He does so while invoking his role as a major financial backer of the Illinois Holocaust Museum, as though his philanthropy grants him moral license to define who the “real Nazis” are.

But Pritzker has remained nearly silent when antisemitism originates from his own party’s far-left flank – where hatred of Jews now masquerades as “resistance” and “liberation.” When demonstrations erupted on college campuses and city streets rejecting Israel’s right to exist or defend itself, Pritzker chose to preserve his political standing rather than call out antisemitism. Because condemnation risked alienating the activist base he needs for his future political ambitions, Pritzker turned a blind eye to preserve his standing.

When antisemitic rhetoric and behavior emerged from Chicago’s municipal leadership in October 2023, Pritzker again offered little more than disapproval, focusing attention elsewhere. Meanwhile, members of the Chicago Teachers Union organized rallies supporting a Gaza “cease-fire,” antisemitic social media posts surfaced among city leaders, including the CPS Board of Education’s president, and even Johnson called Israel’s military response “genocidal,” equating the Palestinian cause with movements for Black liberation.

Even as New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani claimed headlines, Pritzker has been silent on Mamdani’s focused targeting of Israel, calls to boycott and refusal to criticize Hamas for their Oct. 7 attack.

Yet while shielding the extremes within his own coalition, Pritzker has intensified his attacks on Trump, repeatedly likening his policies to those found in Nazi Germany. The truth is it’s about politics, not what’s good or right; dehumanization is a tool to be used for political capital.