Mark Halperin:
I’ve looked at a lot of news coverage since this started, and I want to show you two news reports that echo what we saw after George Floyd around the country, including cities like Portland, Oregon, where the media minimized violence, property destruction, and threats to law enforcement.
Here’s the first one:
Reporter (clip A1):
Demonstrations have been going on right outside the federal detention center. Most were very peaceful—chanting, shouting, honking horns, expressing anger about the detention of immigrants. Most of the evening, federal agents stayed inside the building. But at one point, demonstrators got very close, went onto the property, tagged the building, banged on fences. Shortly afterward, agents started firing tear gas, and then they came out.
Mark Halperin:
Again, the tone suggests it’s law enforcement’s fault for responding.
Here’s another report:
Reporter (clip A2):
With a large group of people, it could turn volatile if law enforcement moves in the wrong way and turns a bunch of people just having fun watching cars burn into a massive confrontation between officers and demonstrators.
Mark Halperin:
“A bunch of people having fun watching cars burn.” Putting the blame on federal officials, including ICE and the National Guard, for defending themselves.
Democrats, who should know better, hear this kind of left-wing media coverage and get a distorted impression. But the facts aren’t unclear. Is this operation something that should be scrutinized? Absolutely. There are people here illegally who contribute to their communities—they have jobs, care for children, clean houses. Immigration is a tough issue, a human issue, for America to grapple with.
But what isn’t complicated: If ICE says they’re deporting specific people, some of whom are violent criminals, and then violence is directed against ICE, the issue there is clear. That’s a breakdown of civic order. When the president says local officials can’t or won’t maintain order, and the National Guard or military is brought in, Democrats should say, “Thank you for helping our community.” They can still oppose the immigration policy. But how can a political party claim the violence is incited by federal officials?
The Democratic response is equally confusing. Vice President Kamala Harris, who lives in Southern California and has rarely weighed in since leaving office, called the people being deported “our immigrant neighbors.” Technically true—they’re immigrants, illegal immigrants, living nearby—but that phrase reflects the Democrats’ desire to blame Donald Trump. They want to suggest this violence is Trump’s fault. It’s not.
Trump openly promised this action as a candidate, clearly, in speeches like one he gave in Iowa. There was no ambiguity. Now he’s enforcing that promise, going into blue areas—possibly being provocative or changing the subject. He even sent ICE agents into Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Locals there were shocked, saying things like, “That woman cares for my kids,” or “That guy sells me papaya in the park.” It’s tragic to see these lives upended, but these are people who chose to enter illegally.
My heart breaks for them on a human level, but tens of millions of Americans voted for Trump precisely to restore order, to bring sanity back to our immigration system—for security, criminal justice, and because our healthcare and education systems simply can’t afford unchecked illegal immigration.
I don’t understand why Democrats think attacking law enforcement, either verbally or politically, is the right approach. Oppose Trump’s immigration policies politically if you disagree. But as ICE officials are being attacked, how can anyone justify criticizing law enforcement for enforcing the law?
California Democratic officials keep repeating that Trump is evil, doesn’t care about immigrants, wants to destroy communities, uses aggressive law enforcement, rubber bullets against reporters, tear gas against babies. This rhetoric results directly in attacks on law enforcement. Enforcing the law is not breaking the law. You can disagree with the policy, but this is one of the clearest examples of Trump Derangement Syndrome I’ve ever seen.
