'Trumpocrat' Blagojevich Slams Broken, Racist Justice System
CHICAGO, IL — Less than a day after returning to his Chicago home from a nearly eight-year stint in a Denver federal prison, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich held a “homecoming” news conference in which he again thanked President Donald Trump for commuting his sentence, dubbing himself a “Trumpocrat.” He also lashed out at what he called a broken and racist criminal justice system.
The crowd greeted the newly freed Blagojevich with a smattering of applause, and he stopped to shake a few hands and even pose for some selfies.
Standing next to his children and wife, Patti, who advised him to ignore a heckler, Blagojevich repeatedly dabbed a cut on his chin — a result, he said, of not being used to non-prison-issue razors — and expressed his gratitude at being home with his family.
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“It’s been a long, unhappy journey,” Blagojevich said. “They’ve been hard years for our children, they’ve been hard years for Patti and for me.”
Blagojevich said he was imprisoned with drug dealers, cartel members, murderers and sex offenders and described his 6-by-8-foot prison cell with a heavy iron door and a small window to look out.
“I slept on the top bunk,” he said. “Often late at night, I would look through that window past those bars and to the night sky, and I’d think of home.” He also thought of his family, he said, and sometimes he even imagined he felt his wife next to him.
Blagojevich spoke out against what he described as a broken and racist criminal justice system that imposes “unfair and cruel over-sentencing” for nonviolent offenders, calling his trial “persecution masquerading as prosecution.” He added, “No one has done more than Trump and (son-in-law and senior adviser) Jared Kushner” to push for reforms.
“I’ve got 10,000 reasons to be thankful to President Trump, to just be able to hold my wife’s hand,” said Blagojevich, noting that when he left, his older daughter, Amy, was a sophomore in high school. Now she’s two years out of college and pursuing a master’s degree. His younger daughter, Annie, just 8 years old when he was imprisoned, is now 16 and driving.
“Look at you, sweetheart, look at you,” he said to her.
Blagojevich said that while he’s been a lifelong Democrat, he’s now a “Trumpocrat.”
“He’s tough, he’s outspoken, he gets things done, he’s a problem solver,” Blagojevich said of the president. “He’s fighting to bring real change, that’s why he gets so much pushback. He’s also a man with a kind heart.”
The ex-governor also said if he’s able to vote — Illinois is one of a few states where felons can regain their right to vote after their release — that he will vote for Trump in his re-election bid.
Blagojevich, who served roughly half of his 14-year sentence on felony corruption charges, ended his homecoming speech with some advice for those who find themselves facing similar troubles.
“Keep fighting and persevere,” he said. “It is there in that lonely wilderness where we are tried and tested that we must rise above our circumstances … for out of weakness, we are made strong. Waiting in the shadows, waiting for justice, waiting and hoping. And if you have to, take a stand, and don’t be afraid — you’re not alone.”