Steve Scalise tells Gov Pritzker to look in mirror over violence rhetoric
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House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., called on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to check his own backyard after accusing President Donald Trump of fostering an environment where political violence is tolerated.
“Governor Pritzker needs to look at the man in the mirror, and that’s where he needs to start,” Scalise told “Hannity” on Tuesday. “Stop the deliberately inflammatory rhetoric that he and others like him use. They know what they are doing; this needs to stop.”
Scalise, himself a victim of political violence, shared this clear message to Pritzker following his statements in an interview with Politico.
In his statement to the press, Pritzker said, “Our leaders have set the tone in this country, and I think the President of the United States has taken a stance that political violence is acceptable. He has advocated this before.” he said.
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said President Donald Trump has created an atmosphere in the United States where political violence is tolerated. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images; Talia Sprague/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 2017, Scalise was shot in the hip during an attack targeting Republican lawmakers during practice for the annual Congressional Charity Baseball Game in Virginia. When he arrived in Washington DC by helicopter, his severe injuries left him without blood pressure and pulse.
Scalise condemned the Illinois governor for using inflammatory rhetoric to describe President Trump, who Scalise said has been the target of numerous attempts at political violence.
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“Literally days into Donald Trump’s second term, he was comparing the president to Hitler and the Nazis, and he does it over and over again. Republicans, remember this, Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. What does he mean by that?” Scalise said.
In this screenshot from the video, US President Donald Trump is escorted during the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner held in Washington, DC, USA on April 25, 2026. (Bo Erickson /Reuters)
Pritzker’s remarks came just days after a shooter opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner; In his manifesto, this person listed his targets as Trump administration officials, except FBI Director Kash Patel.
“When it’s the right that’s been attacked over and over again by the left, they want to try to blame the Republicans,” Scalise said.
The Illinois governor has repeatedly compared Trump’s administration to that of the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in Germany during World War II.
“Many of those who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump repeated the same words (‘Nazi, threat to democracy’) that people like Governor Pritzker used when they tried to kill the president. So they need to stop doing that,” Scalise told host Sean Hannity.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stands at the New York Stock Exchange before trading on the morning of April 15. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
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Scalise claimed that Democratic rhetoric was increasingly targeting Republicans and warned that the party’s far-left wing had “taken over” the party.
“People need to vote this November because this is the kind of methodology and ideology that wants to take back the administration. We can’t let that happen,” he said.
