Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is scheduled to take the stage around 8 p.m. Tuesday for an economy-focused speech at day two of the Democratic National Convention he helped bring to Chicago.
Pritzker, a billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir and second-term Democrat from Chicago, was on Vice President Kamala Harris’ short list of potential running mates before she landed on another Midwestern governor, Minnesota’s Tim Walz.
Pritzker’s remarks will focus on “the economy and what the Harris-Walz administration will deliver for the American people,” according to the governor’s campaign.
In an interview Tuesday morning, Pritzker, who’d been a campaign co-chair for President Joe Biden before he withdrew from the race last month, elaborated on an earlier remark that he had some “concern” about Biden’s electoral chances.
“It was really just a concern that if we don’t win, we’re going to end up with Donald Trump, and if Joe Biden isn’t able to perform in the debate, where you have the best chance of showing the contrast, then it would be challenging in the general election,” Pritzker told the Tribune. “Having said that, I supported Joe Biden through and through, to the very end.”
Pritzker told Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” in an otherwise lighthearted video segment filmed last week and posted online Monday that he had some concerns about Biden’s reelection prospects following the president’s shaky debate performance in June.
“A lot of us were concerned about the direction of the election and whether Joe Biden was going to be able to be competitive, because the polls weren’t looking good,” Pritzker said during the Daily Show appearance.
On Tuesday, Pritzker told the Tribune, “I love Joe Biden, so watching the debate performance felt like, you know, he’s going to get harmed in the election by what happened in the debate, even though he’s somebody who’s fought his whole life for the things Democrats care about.”
Watch his speech below.
