Illinois Governor JB Pritzker took aim at Donald Trump’s masculinity after he made a major mishap in identifying Switzerland’s leadership. During a reported phone call, the president referred to Karen Keller-Sutter as the ‘Prime Minister’ when she’s actually the Head of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance. But what caused Pritzker to take a jab at Trump’s masculinity?
In a conversation with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, Trump had quite a lot to say about the FDF Swiss leader. After Trump announced 30% tariffs on Switzerland, he received an “emergency call” from Karen to negotiate.
Trump: “So I put on a 30% tariff, which is very low. I got an emergency call from I believe the prime minister of Switzerland. She was very aggressive … I didn’t really like the way she talked to us, so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39%.” pic.twitter.com/covIESz4u2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2026
Trump described her as a nice yet “very aggressive” woman. And in a plot twist, he decided to increase the tariffs to 39% because of the FDF Swiss leader’s tone. Trump even mimicked her response, saying, “We are a small country; we can’t do this.”
He repeated her remarks and justified his decision, citing trade-deficit concerns as a primary reason for the sharp increase. This appeared contradictory, given his first reason for increasing the tariff by 9%, and it’s what caught the attention of Governor Pritzker.
Pritzker reshared the interview on X. The Illinois governor claimed Trump increased the tariffs only because his ego took a hit. He captioned the re-shared video, writing, “The art of fragile masculinity.”
Pritzker is a longtime foe of the Trump administration and often slams the POTUS’s policies.
The Art of Fragile Masculinity. https://t.co/rrTSHhsyYe
— JB Pritzker (@JBPritzker) February 11, 2026
It didn’t take long for netizens to respond to Pritzker’s statement in agreement. Many users appeared to agree with him and also described Trump’s behavior as childish. A user said, “He’s always been this way with women; this kind of thing is nothing new.”
Another social media user praised Pritzker for his statement, saying, “Superior tweeting from a great governor.” Someone quipped, “So fragile he can barely keep up!” A fourth one pointed out, “The legal term is arbitrary and capricious.”
Similarly, many joked and mocked the MAGA leader for his comments against the FDF Swiss leader. Other netizens zeroed in on Trump’s mistake in referring to Karen as a ‘Prime Minister’ when technically the country doesn’t have one. In another thread, they expressed disappointment over Trump’s mishap while on air.
Switzerland doesn’t have a Prime Minister. The governing body is a seven member council. One member is elected President of the council as ‘first among equals’ and acts as spokesperson and also for ceremonial purposes.
— Anne Marie C. Desmarais (@AnneMarie01754) February 11, 2026
One user corrected the POTUS and said, “How embarrassing is this?” Another one mentioned, “This is tariff policy run on vibes and ego, where a country gets hit harder just because he didn’t like the tone of a phone call.” A user responded to the comment, saying, “I think that’s putting it mildly.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has made a mistake in the credentials of a political figure. In the past, he’s mixed up his GOP rival Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi, which sparked backlash from Haley’s side. He has also confused the name of his own former doctor, Ronny Jackson, whom Trump called Ronny Johnson.
The White House has not yet officially responded to Pritzker’s latest jab at Trump’s masculinity.
