If we can say one good thing about President Donald Trump’s ill-advised and ever-shifting tariff policies, it’s this: They’re making at least some leading Democrats sound like old-school Republicans.

Case in point: Illinois’ governor. JB Pritzker, who appeared for the first time on Fox News this past Sunday, came across as reasonable and laser-focused on the economy, repeatedly emphasizing the needs of working families and focusing on the cost of living. He refused to be distracted by divisive culture war topics.

When “Fox News Sunday’s” Shannon Bream tried to steer the governor toward discussing transgender athletes and the issue of gender more broadly (against polling statistics showing the majority of voters support the president’s positions on these issues), Pritzker pivoted to economic policy, saying Americans are more interested in their standard of living.

“They care about the kitchen table issues that really matter every day so that people who are living paycheck to paycheck can get by,” he said.

Yes, they do. These were the main issues animating Americans in the November election, and the president’s trade war is sure to exacerbate the inflationary trends that made voters unhappy back then, at least in the near term.

Speaking of tariffs, the back and forth between Pritzker and Bream on this topic was cordial and professional, without a hint of animosity. Even when Pritzker pushed back, he was calm and measured. Both conducted themselves in an exemplary way, with the end result that Fox News viewers who don’t often hear directly from the likes of Pritzker were exposed to an alternative point of view without interruptions or vitriol.

“(Trump) thinks with tariffs, if he closes the borders for any goods, that now we’re gonna have onshoring of operations,” Pritzker said. “Maybe, but it’s gonna take years, and we’re gonna lose a lot of jobs and have a big recession in between. I think there’s a better way to do that. Let’s be careful about the way we’re putting tariffs in if we do any, and importantly, U.S. businesses and jobs ought to be the number one thought of the Trump administration, and not this idea that we’re punishing people.”

We imagine that many network listeners were likely scratching their heads, wondering how they ended up agreeing with a blue-state governor on tariffs after voting for Trump. Fellow Democrats ought to take heed of Pritzker’s clear message as well. Too many of them seem afraid to straightforwardly criticize protectionism for fear of alienating union backers.

At one point Bream almost teased Pritzker. “I know you don’t think there’ll be enough there to get to the numbers they want to,” she said, smiling and teeing up Pritzker to articulate his position that the president is likely going to slash Medicaid funding because of the cost-cutting goals in the congressional GOP’s budget resolution.

Pritzker hit just the right notes for the part of the Fox News audience seeking a little common sense in the midst of chaos, and the collegiality from both sides was refreshing — almost distressingly so, since that ought to be the norm in TV interviews.

Now, of course, there’s a difference between talk and action. We’d urge the governor to apply some of those common sense economic principles to Illinois, where high taxes create cost-of-living difficulties of their own.

Our economic growth is weak compared with other states, and we still have fewer private sector jobs today than we did in 2019. That likely explains in part why Trump secured 45% of the vote here in deep blue Illinois.

At the end of the day, Fox News is still conservative cable TV and Pritzker is still a progressive Democrat. But this appearance demonstrated that light — rather than heat — is what’s needed when those on opposite sides of the political spectrum hash out the issues of the day. We encourage more of that everywhere. Nice work, governor, and keep it up, Fox News. Let’s see more of the same from MSNBC and CNN as well.

___

©2025 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.