Trump facing growing cultural revolt vs immigration crackdown
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.
Public letter
Joe Rogan, a leading podcast host who endorsed Trump during his comeback campaign, said he sympathizes with concerns about immigration agents’ tactics.
“Are we really going to be the Gestapo?” Rogan said. “’Where’s your papers?’ Is that what we’ve come to?”
Over the weekend, more than 60 corporate executives, including the leaders of Target, Best Buy, and UnitedHealth, released a public letter calling for de-escalation following the death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Veterans Affairs nurse fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents.
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday issued a memo to employees saying he was “heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis.”
“I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they’re from, and when we embrace our shared humanity,” Cook wrote in the memo, first reported by Bloomberg News.
Tech billionaire and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla used stronger language on social media to condemn “macho ICE vigilantes running amuck (sic) empowered by a conscious-less administration.”
Jason Calacanis, a prominent tech podcaster, on Wednesday wrote to his 1 million X followers: “President Trump needs to replace them all and reverse his plummeting ratings, or the entire Trump 2.0 agenda is over.” “America needs to put this dark and disgusting chapter behind us and unite behind a crisper immigration policy,” he added.
Liberal bastion
More outrage came from the entertainment industry, which is often viewed as a liberal bastion.
Springsteen dropped his new song, “The Streets of Minneapolis,” on Wednesday. The famed musician referenced Pretti’s death directly.
“Trump’s federal thugs beat up on his face and his chest. Then we heard the gunshots. And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead,” Springsteen sings.
The other actors and entertainers who spoke out in recent days include Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, Olivia Rodrigo, and Billie Eilish. Actor Mark Ruffalo described Pretti’s death as “cold-blooded murder.”
The sports world has also begun to engage.
Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch called shootings “unconscionable” and expressed support for protesters. So did superstar NBA player Steph Curry.
“There’s a lot of change that needs to happen,” Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, told reporters this week.
Declining numbers
Guerschon Yabusele, of the New York Knicks, went further the day after Pretti’s shooting.
“I can’t remain silent. What’s happening is beyond comprehension,” he wrote on X. “We’re talking about murders here, these are serious matters. The situation must change, the government must stop operating in this way. I stand with Minnesota.”
Even before Pretti’s death on Saturday, public opinion was starting to turn against Trump on immigration, which was among his strongest issues at the beginning of his second term.
Just 38 percent of US adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, down from 49 percent in March. That’s according to an AP-NORC poll conducted Jan. 8to Jan. 11, shortly after the first shooting death of a US citizen in Minnesota.
The president’s approval even among self-described Republicans fell from 88 percent in March to 76 percent in the January AP-NORC poll.
A separate Fox News poll, conducted Friday through Monday, found that 59 percent of voters described ICE as “too aggressive,” a 10-point increase since last July.
