President Donald Trump took to Twitter Sunday morning lashing out at Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker after repeatedly calling out the federal government to do more amid the global coronavirus outbreak --and once again, Pritzker did not shy from responding.
“@JBPritzker, Governor of Illinois, and a very small group of certain other Governors, together with Fake News @CNN & Concast (MSDNC), shouldn’t be blaming the Federal Government for their own shortcomings,” Trump said on Twitter. “We are there to back you up should you fail, and always will be!”
J.B. Pritzker has repeatedly and publicly spoken about his disappointment with the lack of federal government’s quick response on the international crisis, specifically pointing out the scarce testing kits sent to states, including Illinois.
"You wasted precious months when you could've taken action to protect Americans & Illinoisans," Pritzker replied to Trump on Twitter. "You should be leading a national response instead of throwing tantrums from the back seat. Where were the tests when we needed them? Where's the PPE? Get off Twitter & do your job."
As of Sunday morning, a total of 753 coronavirus cases have been reported in the state, with six deaths confirmed.
State officials already began taking drastic measures to contain the virus, including enacting
Mayor Lori Lightfoot shortly responded to Trump’s comment on Twitter Sunday, saying, ".@realDonaldTrump, dear Lord—please step up and be a leader. While you have been yammering about hoaxes and fake news, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit all over America. @GovPritzker and others have filled this country’s leadership gap. Lead or get out of their way.”
A statewide stay-at-home order was enacted Saturday evening and is set to last through April 7.
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"We know this will be hard and we're looking for every tool we have to get through this crisis," Pritzker said.
The order closed "non-essential" businesses that were still open, after Gov. Pritzker announced restaurants and bars would temporarily close in the area.
Though there has yet to be a nationwide order as such, Illinois' order is similar to ones implemented in other countries.
