WATCH: JB Pritzker Floors Stephen A. Smith With Claim Trump Is Going to Try to ‘Steal’ 2026 Elections

Stephen A. Smith was shocked to hear Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) suggest President Donald Trump is going to try and “steal” the 2026 elections.

Pritzker joined Smith on Thursday for his Straight Shooter SiriusXM show where Pritzker predicted Trump would “seize” ballot boxes as he and Smith discussed federal agents, including ICE, being deployed to major cities.

Pritzker said he’s argued for federal assistance in stopping crime in Chicago, but not the deployment of the National Guard.

He said:

What I’ve asked for is FBI, ATF, DEA, come get the drug dealers, come help us get guns off the streets, come help get the gang members off the street. Indeed, we’ve been doing that for many years with those agencies at the local and state level working with the feds, but that’s not what he’s offering now. He never did offer any of that. In fact, he’s repositioned people from those agencies to ICE and CBP when we actually need help on the streets with some of these other issues.

“Why, rather than just like you said, the FBI or anybody else, rather than doing that, why would transition these people to ICE? What’s the reason for that in your estimation?” Smith asked.

Pritzker then explained his “theory” that Trump is deploying troops as a way to control future elections.

The governor said:

Why does he wanna send troops in? I will tell you what my theory is about this. And I believe I’m right, which is because he’s talked about this for some time. Let’s go back to 2020 when he said that the election was stolen from him. It wasn’t. And it was Michael Flynn that told the president, and he repeated it, that maybe they should just seize the ballot boxes with the military. Maybe they should go to where there ballot boxes and then they should count the votes themselves. Here we are in 2025, he is becoming more unpopular. He is likely to lose the 2026 elections. He’s sending troops into American cities and particularly in blue states, in blue cities, to put them on the ground, get us used to the idea of having military on the ground. I believe because he then will say, well, I’m going to go protect our polling places in Illinois. And then if he is losing the elections, meaning the Congress, he will, frankly, just seize the ballot boxes.

“So you’re saying that the president of the United States is going to try to steal an election. Is that what you’re saying?” a surprised Smith asked.

“Oh, this is a guy who tried to steal the election back in 2020, and he would do it again,” Pritzker said. “Yeah, I think he’s proven that he’s willing to do that.”

Watch above via Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Smith.