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No longer confined to the partisans and activists, the fierce backlash against\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown\u00a0has begun to break out across American culture, spanning the worlds of business, sports and entertainment.<\/p>\n
Bruce Springsteen released a new song\u00a0Wednesday that slammed \u201cTrump\u2019s federal thugs.\u201d OpenAI chief executive\u00a0Sam Altman\u00a0told employees that \u201cwhat\u2019s happening with ICE is going too far,\u201d referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And lifestyle icon\u00a0Martha Stewart\u00a0lamented that \u201cwe can be attacked and even killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThings must and have to change quickly and peacefully,\u201d Stewart wrote to her 2.9 million Instagram followers this week.<\/p>\n
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,\u00a0the Republican Party\u2019s grip on power\u00a0and his own political strength ahead of the midterm elections.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0to replace Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander who has been a lightning rod.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s unclear if the move\u00a0will change anything on the ground.<\/p>\n
Thousands of federal agents remain in Minnesota, where two U.S. citizens have been killed and communities have felt besieged by Trump\u2019s crackdown. Meanwhile, operations have expanded into Maine as well.<\/p>\n
Republican strategist Doug Heye said it\u2019s too soon to know whether Trump\u2019s attempt to control the fallout will work. He\u2019s 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\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very clear that the administration is spooked,\u201d Heye said.<\/p>\n
And while some in the party may be concerned, Trump\u2019s Make America Great Again base remains largely unified behind him and the immigration crackdown that he promised repeatedly on the campaign trail. They\u2019re pushing the president not to back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time for President Trump to ramp up mass deportations even more,\u201d Laura Loomer, a Trump loyalist who has the president\u2019s ear, told The Associated Press. \u201cAnd if Minnesota is any barometer, it\u2019s time for the focus to be on deporting as many Muslims as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such advice is at odds with a growing faction of prominent voices across American culture.<\/p>\n
Joe Rogan, a leading podcast host who endorsed Trump during his comeback campaign, said he sympathizes with concerns about immigration agents\u2019 tactics.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we really going to be the Gestapo?\u201d Rogan said. \u201c\u2019Where\u2019s your papers?\u2019 Is that what we\u2019ve come to?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a0the death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Veterans Affairs nurse fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents.<\/p>\n
The outcry intensified as the week progressed.<\/p>\n
Apple CEO\u00a0Tim Cook\u00a0on Tuesday issued a memo to employees saying he was \u201cheartbroken by the events in Minneapolis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019re from, and when we embrace our shared humanity,\u201d Cook wrote in the memo, first reported by Bloomberg News.<\/p>\n
Tech billionaire and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla used stronger language on social media to condemn \u201cmacho ICE vigilantes running amuck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason Calacanis, a prominent tech podcaster, on Wednesday warned of dire consequences for Trump if he does not make sweeping changes among the people running the immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump needs to replace them all and reverse his plummeting ratings, or the entire Trump 2.0 agenda is over,\u201d Calacanis wrote to his 1 million X followers. \u201cAmerica needs to put this dark and disgusting chapter behind us and unite behind a crisper immigration policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
More outrage came from the entertainment industry, which is often viewed as a liberal bastion.<\/p>\n
Springsteen dropped his new song, \u201cThe Streets of Minneapolis,\u201d on Wednesday. The famed musician referenced Pretti\u2019s death directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s federal thugs beat up on his face and his chest. Then we heard the gunshots. And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead,\u201d Springsteen sings.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s death as \u201ccold-blooded murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sports world has also begun to engage.<\/p>\n
Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch called the shootings \u201cunconscionable\u201d and expressed support for protesters. So did superstar NBA player Steph Curry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of change that needs to happen,\u201d Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, told reporters this week. He said he\u2019s been glued to news coverage of the latest Minnesota shooting.<\/p>\n
Guerschon Yabusele, of the New York Knicks, went further the day after Pretti\u2019s shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t remain silent. What\u2019s happening is beyond comprehension,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about murders here, these are serious matters. The situation must change, the government must stop operating in this way. I stand with Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump appears to be softening his tone on immigration \u2014 at least by his standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to de-escalate a little bit,\u201d he said during a Tuesday interview on Fox News. He also chided Bovino, whom he displaced from his role.<\/p>\n
\u201cBovino is very good, but he\u2019s a pretty out-there kind of a guy,\u201d he said. \u201cIn some cases, that\u2019s good. Maybe it wasn\u2019t good here.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Trump pushed back on the characterization that he was scaling back his operations in Minnesota. And in a social media post, he warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey that he was \u201cPLAYING WITH FIRE\u201d by refusing to enforce federal immigration laws.<\/p>\n
Even before Pretti\u2019s death Saturday, public opinion was starting to turn against Trump on immigration, which was among his strongest issues at the beginning of his second term.<\/p>\n
Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, down from 49% in March. That\u2019s according to an\u00a0AP-NORC poll conducted Jan. 8-11, shortly after the first shooting death of a U.S. citizen in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also some indication that Trump\u2019s approval on immigration could be slipping among Republicans. The president\u2019s approval among self-described Republicans\u00a0fell from 88% in March to 76%\u00a0in the January AP-NORC poll.<\/p>\n
A separate Fox News poll, which was conducted Friday through Monday, found that 59% of voters described ICE as \u201ctoo aggressive,\u201d a 10-point increase since last July.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Trump #backlash #ICE #builds #American #culture #Boss #Sam #Altman #Martha #Stewart<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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