NEW YORK: No longer confined to the partisans and activists, the fierce backlash against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to break out across American culture, spanning the worlds of business, sports and entertainment.
Bruce Springsteen released a new song on Wednesday that slammed “Trump’s federal thugs.” OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman told employees that “what’s happening with ICE is going too far.” And lifestyle icon Martha Stewart lamented that “we can be attacked and even killed.”
“Things must and have to change quickly and peacefully,” Stewart wrote to her 2.9 million Instagram followers this week.
A little more than one year into his second term, Trump is facing a broad cultural revolt that threatens to undermine his signature domestic priority, the Republican Party’s grip on power and his own political strength ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump, a former reality television star often attuned to changes in public opinion, tried to shift the conversation this week by dispatching border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to replace Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander who has been a lightning rod.
But it’s unclear if the move will change anything on the ground.
Thousands of federal agents remain in Minnesota, where two U.S. citizens have been killed and communities have felt besieged by Trump’s crackdown. Meanwhile, operations have expanded into Maine as well.
Republican strategist Doug Heye said it’s too soon to know whether Trump’s attempt to control the fallout will work. He’s been in communication with
Republican leaders across Washington in recent days who are worried that the escalating situation could jeopardize control of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections.
“It’s very clear that the administration is spooked,” Heye said.
And while some in the party may be concerned, Trump’s MAGA base remains largely unified behind him and the immigration crackdown that he promised repeatedly on the campaign trail. They’re pushing the president not to back down.
“It’s time for President Trump to ramp up mass deportations even more,” Laura Loomer, a Trump loyalist who has the president’s ear, told The Associated Press. “And if Minnesota is any barometer, it’s time for the focus to be on deporting as many Muslims as possible.”