The long history of issues between Trump and the Pritzker family

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00:00The bad blood between President Trump and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is clear,

00:05with issues between Trump and the Pritzker family going back decades.

00:11He's demented, literally, unhinged.

00:14When I have a governor stands up every day and tells us how wonderful Chicago is,

00:18it's just a lie.

00:20That's just some of the recent rhetoric between Trump and Pritzker,

00:23which also includes a Trump Truth social post saying Pritzker should be in jail.

00:28Issues between Trump and the Pritzker family can be traced back to 1977,

00:33when Trump partnered with J. and Donald Pritzker, who's J.B.'s father,

00:38on the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York.

00:40Now, as part of that deal, the Chicago-based Pritzker family was not allowed to build

00:45or manage any other hotels in New York City.

00:48And, you know, in the hotel business, you don't really want a competing hotel

00:51next door with the same ownership because the question is, like, where do your,

00:56you know, where is your emphasis, right?

01:01Fast forward to the 1990s, and Trump was in serious financial trouble,

01:06nearly going bankrupt.

01:08The Pritzker family, owners of Hyatt Hotels,

01:10wanted a $30 million-plus renovation to the Grand Hyatt

01:14in order to remain competitive in the market.

01:17I would be very dubious that it wasn't something that was part of their strategic plan

01:23that had been intended all along.

01:27Now, it is possible that the costs were a lot more than was agreed upon or understood or expected.

01:35Bill's costs would be split amongst investors,

01:38but they were too much for Trump to bear at the time with his financial issues.

01:41So Trump then filed a lawsuit against the Pritzkers, one of many over the years.

01:47There is a history of strained business relationships with him and his organizations.

01:54Trump claimed the Pritzkers knew about his financial trouble

01:57and that this was an attempt to remove him from the deal,

02:01allowing the Pritzker family to start building in the city.

02:04Trump may have a point that the Pritzkers were taking advantage of the fact

02:09that they knew he was not in a position to pay up on the renovation right at that time.

02:17But still, you know, they like to keep their properties in prime shape,

02:24so it's certainly justifiable to want to renovate it to maintain the standard.

02:33After Trump filed suit, the Pritzkers responded with a lawsuit of their own.

02:39They claimed Trump deliberately blocked the renovations

02:41and that he secretly ceded his interest in the Grand Hyatt

02:45to two of his creditors to help with his debt,

02:48and the latter would have violated their partnership.

02:51Eventually, the lawsuits were settled confidentially in 1995.

02:55And then a year later, in 1996,

02:57the Pritzker family bought out Trump's 50 percent stake in the Grand Hyatt for $140 million.

03:04Fast forward to today.

03:05When they let me down, if they let me down, I never forgive.

03:09The president and a younger member of the Pritzker family may end up back in court.

03:14The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago have sued

03:18to stop Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago.

03:22And while Pritzker may remember the issues between Trump and his father and uncle.

03:26He's now the governor and was elected and is responsible for the people of Illinois, including Chicago.

03:36So I think first and foremost, he's probably thinking less about that feud

03:40and more about, you know, sort of like the sovereignty and, you know,

03:47the agency of people and agencies in Chicago to do their thing.

03:50For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan.

03:52If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com.

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