“I’ll abolish ICE and hold Trump accountable for the crimes he’s committed,” said Julia Stratton.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a Democrat, released an inflammatory advertisement on Thursday for her US Senate campaign that consisted of people saying “F*ck Trump” before urging viewers to “Vote Juliana.” Stratton, a progressive Chicago native, has centered her campaign around promises to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and take on President Donald Trump, whom she referred to as a “dictator.”
Stratton, 60, hopes to fill the open Senate seat for the state of Illinois in the upcoming midterm elections following the retirement of longtime Democrat senator Dick Durbin, who has held the seat for the past 26 years. In a 30-second video posted on X, Stratton wrote in the caption: “They said it. We’re all thinking it,” referring to the individuals in her campaign video saying “F*ck Trump.”
After the inflammatory remarks, Stratton, the current Lt. Gov. and former state lawmaker, appears in the clip. “I’m Juliana Stratton, and I am proud to have lived my whole life on the southside of Chicago. I’m not scared of a wannabe dictator. I’m running for Senate to stand up to Donald Trump,” she says.
“I’ll abolish ICE and hold Trump accountable for the crimes he’s committed,” Stratton continues. Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker, who endorsed Stratton, later appears in the video. He encouraged residents to vote for Stratton. Pritzker has clashed with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement operations in the state since last year, particularly in Chicago, where agitators have repeatedly disrupted operations, resulting in President Trump ordering the now-blocked deployment of the National Guard.
In a recent debate, Stratton told the audience that she wants to abolish ICE because the agency cannot be “reformed,” saying that it doesn’t matter which president is in charge at the time. She went on to state that federal immigration enforcement agents should be “prosecuted,” claiming that ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have “invaded and occupied our American cities.”
“We’re seeing the terror that they have inflicted,” she said.
Stratton will face off against Democratic challenger Raja Krishnamoorthi during the March 17 primary election. Gov. Pritzker has donated over $5 million to her campaign through a super PAC, according to NBC News.
