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Republicans are increasingly nervous that President Donald Trump\u2019s slipping support on immigration and the economy \u2014 two key issues that helped him win in 2024 \u2014 could cost them the midterm elections. The Super Bowl halftime show won\u2019t help their anxiety.<\/p>\n
The performance by Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican\u00a0global music star\u00a0and outspoken critic of Trump\u2019s immigration policies, is expected to underscore on one of the world\u2019s biggest stages the political and cultural divide over the administration\u2019s crackdown that led to the killing of two Americans in Minneapolis and spurred protests nationwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s border and immigration policies had been popular among the electorate over much of the past year. But after weeks of seeing masked federal agents tackling people on the street, detaining children and killing a\u00a0pair of US citizens, just 34% of voters approve of how officials are enforcing the policy, down six points from two weeks prior, according to a Feb. 4 Quinnipiac\u00a0poll.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Republicans, meanwhile, are negotiating with Democrats on a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security. They have less than a week to make a deal or risk a shutdown at the department at the center of the immigration crackdown. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Several Republicans, who have largely been in lock-step with the administration, say the immigration raids went too far.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should\u2019ve focused on criminals and gang members, not grandmothers. That was a mistake,\u201d Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican and former mayor of Miami-Dade county, said this week on Fox News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even after announcing the withdrawal of 700 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from Minnesota and an earlier drawdown in Maine, Trump\u2019s hardline approach threatens to isolate Latino voters ahead of the midterms, sidelining a critical voter bloc that helped him get elected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The consequences were on display last week when a solid Republican Texas state senate seat\u00a0flipped blue: the 31-point swing to the Democrats was largely driven by the district\u2019s Latino electorate. That followed a string of\u00a0election victories\u00a0late last year in which Democrats outperformed expectations, from the Virginia governor\u2019s race to the\u00a0Miami mayoral vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more:\u00a0Texas Democrat\u2019s Shock Win Powered by Latinos, 31-Point Flip<\/p>\n
\u201cA swing of this magnitude is not something that can be dismissed,\u201d Florida\u2019s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said in a social media\u00a0post\u00a0on Feb. 1, citing the Texas results. \u201cRepublicans should be clear-eyed about the political environment heading into the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republican strategist Mike Madrid, who specializes in Latino voters, said the president\u2019s immigration and economic policies have turned key voting blocs away from him. He emphasized that the Republican loss in Texas was remarkable given how Trump performed in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen that in three-and-a-half decades of work,\u201d Madrid said. \u201cThe two strengths that he had in building a multiracial coalition have not only collapsed, but they have really cemented against him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though half of Latinos backed Trump in 2024, a recent\u00a0Pew Research Center poll\u00a0showed 70% now disapprove of him, including 61% who say his policies have made economic conditions worse. While the survey was conducted before the latest protests erupted, about two-thirds said they disagree with Trump\u2019s approach to immigration, with more than half of Latinos saying arrests or raids have taken place in their community since the president took office.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, it had always been the economy over immigration as an issue,\u201d said Mark Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at Pew. But now, \u201ca growing share of Latinos say that they\u2019re worried about deportations of somebody they know or even themselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so all things are pointing to immigration rising as an issue,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Trump took office, the largely Spanish-speaking Bad Bunny said he would avoid the mainland US on his next world tour, saying he didn\u2019t want to put his fans at risk of being arrested by ICE at his shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cICE out,\u201d the artist, whose name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, said at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 1. \u201cWe\u2019re not savage, we\u2019re not animals, we\u2019re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump won\u2019t tune in to watch the halftime show, the White House has said, but more than 100 million others will.<\/p>\n
In protest over Bad Bunny\u2019s leading role at the Super Bowl, critics have organized an alternate \u201cAll-American Halftime Show\u201d headlined by Trump supporter Kid Rock and backed by the late Charlie Kirk\u2019s Turning Point USA group. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Besides withdrawing hundreds of ICE agents, the White House has taken other steps to deescalate tensions in Minneapolis. Tom Homan, the administration\u2019s border czar, was sent in to replace Greg Bovino, the controversial on-the-ground commander who critics say fueled conflict. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said that all officers in Minneapolis will now wear a body camera.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump said in an interview this week on NBC that he was \u201cnot happy with what happened\u201d in Minnesota, adding that \u201cmaybe we can use a little bit of a\u00a0softer touch, but you still have to be tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president also sought to assuage Americans who feel that his economic policies have let them down, touting an affordability agenda and saying he\u2019ll aim to help put things like homeownership more in reach. So far, most of the\u00a0initial proposals\u00a0have fallen flat. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it matters how much Republicans want to change the narrative around affordability,\u201d said Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, who specializes in Latino voters. \u201cAll that people in the community see is terror in our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even with the midterm elections still nine months away, many Republicans worry the damage has already been done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHispanics are leaving the GOP in large numbers, and pretending otherwise won\u2019t fix it,\u201d Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a south Florida Republican, said in a social media post on Jan. 27. \u201cAs Republicans, we must reverse course and act now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#ICE #protests #Bad #Bunny #flip #script #Trumps #midterms #playbook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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