Biden-backing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — a rumored replacement — caught on hot mic sharing gloomy outlook on presidential race
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a vocal supporter of President Biden, was caught on a hot mic Wednesday expressing his dissatisfaction with the state of the presidential race.
“I mean, we’re just going to keep fighting. I don’t know what to say. You know, got to do what we have to do,” Pritzker was heard telling a man on the sidelines of a crime-fighting event in Chicago.
“I don’t like where we are,” the governor added.
A spokesperson for the governor told NBC Chicago that Pritzker was discussing the presidential race and the debate regarding the 81-year-old president’s status as the presumptive Democratic nominee when he made the comments.
The governor’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Pritzker, 59, has been floated as a possible replacement for Biden on the Democratic ticket should the president step aside from the race.
The first-term governor has repeatedly said he supports Biden’s candidacy even after his disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump last month.
“Joe Biden is our nominee. I’m for Joe Biden. I’ve been campaigning for Joe Biden,” he told reporters earlier this week while refusing to rule out a presidential run of his own if the incumbent were to end his re-election effort.
Pritzker was among 10 Democratic governors who attended an in-person White House meeting with the president last week, during which Biden reportedly informed them that he needed more sleep and planned to stop holding events after 8 p.m.
The governor’s hot-mic moment comes on the same day the Biden campaign pulled the plug on a fundraiser that was set to be held in Chicago next month, according to CNN.
“I think everything’s fluid right now,” Pritzker told reporters Wednesday when asked about the report.
“I honestly think the president is doing a fine job of raising money. You see all the money that they’ve raised online for the Biden-Harris campaign. I know of fundraisers that are ongoing,” he added. “So any rumor that you may have heard about something like that, I think, is overblown.”
