'Betrayed' MAGA influencers threaten to strike back at Trump over new ICE act: report
President Donald Trump is receiving a warning from his most fervent supporters, The Washington Post reported: don't back down on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown — or we might not be there at the polls in November.
For the moment, the report noted, Trump's moves to "de-escalate" in Minnesota following multiple deaths at the hands of federal agents is more in rhetoric than actual policy.
"Trump has not articulated a clear shift in immigration strategy, leaving the public unsure of where he actually stands or what comes next," said the report. "He sidelined Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem from the Minnesota operation — a tacit but rare show of disapproval toward a Cabinet member. But he has not taken parallel action against senior aide Stephen Miller, who is widely viewed as the architect of Trump’s immigration policies — and who advised Noem on how to respond publicly to the shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations."
Nonetheless, according to the report, even this has provoked discontent in the MAGA world, which was hanging on a ruthless retribution campaign.
"60 percent of Republicans say they have 'a great deal' or 'quite a lot' of confidence in ICE, highlighting the gap between Trump’s own party and independents and Democrats," said the report. "And the president’s sudden interest in cooperating with Walz and Frey and his suggestions about going easy on longtime immigrant workers have amounted to a 'rug pull' for the base in his rhetoric," per right-wing Rasmussen Reports pollster Mark Mitchell.
As a consequence, the report said, "The most recent flood of criticism has come from pro-Trump users online and top influential MAGA commentators. Some called Trump’s pivot a 'betrayal.' Others warned, as they have about other issues for months, of the risk that the base could sit out November’s elections."
Earlier in the week, longtime MAGA ally Steve Bannon set the tone for this dynamic, accusing the White House of "blinking" after the death of Pretti.