Trump Blurts Out Hint of Weakness on ICE as 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.
Donald Trump just claimed in an interview that the events in Minnesota suggest that ICE needs to use a “softer touch.” He also struggled to create the impression that he’s been working constructively with local officials there. While all this is just spin, it reveals an awareness that these events have put him in a politically weak position. 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 surprisingly robust backlash against Trump on immigration, 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.
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