Pritzker: DeSantis ‘isn’t smart enough to be president’

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) fired back at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) after the 2024 presidential candidate attacked a state law Pitzker signed letting non-U.S. citizens apply to be police officers.

“This man isn’t smart enough to be president,” Pritzker said of DeSantis on Monday, writing a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“I proudly signed the bill allowing legal permanent residents & DACA recipients in IL to serve their communities as police officers. Our military already does it & it’s the right thing to do—no matter what lies the right-wing spreads,” Pritzker continued. 

DeSantis, in a post on X on Sunday, blasted Pritzker for the bill, echoing much of the criticism from Illinois conservatives after the bill was signed last week. 

“To the Left, citizenship is meaningless. Illinois is now letting illegal aliens become police officers. In Florida, we took action to combat the harms of Biden’s border crisis. We also value our citizen officers who serve and protect our communities,” DeSantis wrote. 

“As President, I will restore American sovereignty. No illegal alien should have authority over any American citizen. It is a sad commentary on the state of America that this is even a debate,” he continued. 

DeSantis campaign spokesperson Bryan Griffin reiterated the governor’s initial claim in a statement to The Hill responding to Pritzker’s accusation.

“Governor DeSantis is absolutely right in calling out this bizarre new law.  As he said: to the left, citizenship is meaningless,” Griffin wrote in his statement. “I’ll also point out that Gov. Pritzker will have to account for the 23,414 people who left his state for Florida before his criticisms land on Governor DeSantis.”

Pritzker has been defending the new Illinois legislation after many have falsely characterized it as a law allowing immigrants who had entered the country illegally to apply for law enforcement positions. In fact, the new law states that “individuals who are not citizens, but are legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law” can apply for police jobs at the beginning of 2024. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) are among the conservative lawmakers criticizing the new law. 

Pritzker has argued that similar legislation exists in other states and that many DACA recipients and legal residents already serve in the U.S. military.

—Updated on Aug. 3 at 9:42 a.m.