Trump Escalates His War on America as Dems Debate What Words They Can Say
The president is launching increasingly violent invasions of blue cities. Meanwhile, Democratic elites are concerned some might say: ‘Abolish ICE.’
Donald Trump is leading an increasingly violent takeover of Democratic-led cities with masked secret police. That’s been the story of US politics for half a year now, but the story exploded last week when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent murdered Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, on video in Minneapolis. Ten days later, with Trump sending around 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota, having them go “door to door,” as the administration has put it, and an ICE deployment to Maine reportedly on tap, the opposition party is still figuring out what to say – and what, if anything, it should do.
To be clear, some Democrats, liberal wonks, and centrist think tank staffers know with extreme certainty what they don’t want Democrats to say: “Abolish ICE.” Apparently, the thought of eliminating the agency that’s offering up $50,000 signing bonuses, $60,000 in student loan repayment, and neo-Nazi dog-whistles in its campaign to recruit far-right reactionaries to menace immigrants and US citizens alike might be a bridge too far for some median swing voters.
As Trump leads a brutal attack on the Americans who didn’t vote for him, as well as those who did, Democratic elites seem unable to engage with what he’s doing. Instead, they appear more focused on trying to tone-police the progressives and activists who want to put an end to the president’s various crackdowns. That remains the case despite new polling that shows the idea of abolishing ICE is more popular than it’s ever been, and has the support of a plurality of Americans.