Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker speaks near Texas State Rep. Trey Martinez as Democratic lawmakers from Texas hold a press conference, after they had left their state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, in Carol Stream, Illinois, U.S. August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Krawczyk

During a recent speech, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker took a jab at a staffer in President Donald Trump's administration over his outsized role in the administration's mass firings of federal workers.

According to the Daily Beast, Pritzker — who is considered to be a leading name among potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates — was speaking to a gathering of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs' Association on Wednesday when he assailed 19 year-old Edward Coristine (also known by his online moniker "Big Balls"). Coristine was a part of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year before leaving the quasi-entity for the Social Security Administration.

"Our federal workers don't deserve to have some 19 year-old DOGE bro called 'Big Balls' destroy their careers," Pritzker said in the speech, a portion of which was tweeted by the Republican National Committee.

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"Fatcat JB Pritzker mocks Edward Coristine, a 19 year old former DOGE employee who was brutally beaten protecting a woman from a carjacking in Washington, D.C.," the RNC Research account posted. "Disgusting."

The RNC's tweet is referencing a report from earlier this month in which Coristine was beaten bloody by a 15 year-old boy and girl from Maryland, according to the Washington Post. The teens, who have not been named, were arrested and are currently held at a juvenile detention center. In addition to the RNC, other pro-Trump accounts also piled on Pritzker for his comment. MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson called Pritzker's comments "sick," while the account Conservative Brief wondered: "Are there any depths to which liberals will not stoop?"

"Big Balls has more courage in his pinky than this morbidly obese billionaire has in his entire corpulent body," tweeted Article 3 Project senior counsel Will Chamberlain.

"his isn’t just classless; it’s dangerous," MAGA influencer Vincent Sativa posted. "How is Pritzker’s taunting not fanning the flames of violence? Disgusting. Tell me, MAGA fam, should JB apologize or go to jail?"

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