AFT president criticizes Trump’s call to jail Illinois leaders over National Guard dispute

AFT President Randi Weingarten responded to recent remarks by former President Donald Trump, who called for the imprisonment of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson after the Texas National Guard was deployed in Chicago.

Weingarten stated, "The warning signs have been blinking red for months; but this is now a five-alarm fire: Calling for elected officials to be jailed because they disagree with the national leader is what happens in dictatorships, not democracies. Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson have rejected calling up the National Guard not because the troops’ entire presence is based on a lie, but because President Trump’s pursuit of it violates state sovereignty."

She further commented on law enforcement tactics in the city, saying, "At a time when masked ICE agents are abducting and disappearing people off the streets, using pepper spray on clergy and instilling fear in the community, these calls for more militarization will only inflame tensions."

Weingarten also mentioned her visit to Chicago and her collaboration with local leaders. "I am glad to be in Chicago this week, visiting schools and working with Mayor Johnson to stand up for the city: its children, teachers and communities. Today’s unhinged threat from the president violates every precept of democracy and is straight out of the authoritarian playbook that Gov. Pritzker warned us about. It’s also what I warned of in my book—and why we will always fight for the American people and for education, freedom and democracy," she said.

Randi Weingarten serves as President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), with Fedrick C. Ingram as Secretary-Treasurer and Evelyn DeJesus as Executive Vice President.