MAGA rages against Trump 'betrayal' after Minnesota shift

Donald Trump finds himself caught in a tight bind, according to a new analysis from the Washington Post, attempting appease the broader electorate with a retreat in Minnesota that his loyal MAGA base has deemed a "betrayal."

Following the deaths of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, public support for ICE, CBP and Trump's overall deportation agenda has been plummeting faster than ever. Acutely sensitive to his declining popularity, the president has responded with an apparent effort to de-escalate the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, removing CBP commander Greg Bovino from the field and sidelining DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

In an analysis of the situation published Thursday, the Washington Post argued that Trump was caught in a tough balancing act, trying to signal a de-escalation to voters unhappy with his immigration agenda, while avoiding explicit details.

"The conflict has put the normally resolute Trump in an unusual spot, needing to tread carefully on an issue that he has previously plowed ahead on with threats and swagger," the Post explained. "The result has been mixed signals from the White House — and fresh evidence of the difficult task Trump faces in a midterm election year of appeasing both his MAGA base and a broader swath of voters... Yet Trump has not articulated a clear shift in immigration strategy, leaving the public unsure of where he actually stands or what comes next."

There is also now a growing wave of criticism from Trump's MAGA base over his handling of the Minnesota situation, with supporters suggesting that a retreat from hardline deportation plans is a "betrayal" of what they voted for. Mark Mitchell, head pollster at the conservative Rasmussen Reports, explained to the Post that wider public approval of ICE and mass deportation is plunging, meaning that the administration must make changes, despite what Republican voters still want to see.

“Ten years, this has been the core part of his platform — ‘They all have to go home ... Build the wall,’” Mitchell said, adding that Trump's talk of focusing in on just deporting violent criminals signals to MAGA voters that he "caved on the major campaign promise.”

Steve Bannon, once a close adviser to Trump and a prominent MAGA commentator, said on Wednesday that he has urged the administration not to de-escalate its deportation plans.

"This is an inflection point — you blink now and you’re going to blink forever," Bannon said. "You bend the knee now, you’ll bend the knee forever."

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