Donald Trump just claimed in an off-the-cuff interview moment that the events in Minnesota suggest that ICE needs to use a “softer touch.” He also went out of his way to say he’s called the Governor and Minneapolis’s mayor, meaning he wants to create the impression that he’s been working constructively with them. While all this is just spin, it reveals genuine fear that these events have put him in a politically weak position, and that he needs to appear to be recalibrating. Indeed, this comes as Trump’s plans for vast migrant prison camps are hitting angry opposition in unlikely places: In a deep red, partly rural county in Virginia; among Republican officials in other states; and even in Mississippi, where a GOP Senator has come out against a planned camp there. We talked to Brian Beutler, who’s been arguing on his excellent “Off Message” Substack that Dems need to take charge of debates like these. We dig into the epic citizen backlash to Trump’s ICE rades, why the prison camps present a big opportunity for Democrats, and why they must abandon the idea that Trump’s 2024 win showed a big cultural shift against immigrants. Listen to this episode here.
PODCAST
Trump Reveals Hint of Panic on ICE as Prison Camps Anger MAGA Country
As Trump’s planned ICE detention camps face resistance in unlikely places, a sharp observer of Democrats explains how this moment is handing them a major opportunity to seize control of this debate.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
