Trump's decision to commute Blagojevich's sentence was met with bipartisan criticism in Illinois. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said at the time that Trump "has abused his pardon power in inexplicable ways to reward his friends and condone corruption, and I deeply believe this pardon sends the wrong message at the wrong time."

The ex-governor said he and the president were victims of 'lawfare' and didn't address rumors that he's being considered for an ambassadorship.