Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration in Minneapolis hit a snag nobody saw coming.
One of his most powerful Republican allies suddenly turned on him.
And James Comer handed Democrats a gift they never expected with this spineless surrender.
House Oversight Chairman Signals Retreat After Minneapolis Shooting
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) appeared on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures and told Maria Bartiromo that Trump should consider pulling ICE agents out of Minneapolis after Saturday's fatal shooting of armed protester Alex Pretti.
Comer said ICE officials are "in harm's way" and suggested Trump retreat to cities where federal enforcement "would be better received."
"If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, OK, if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm's way and there's a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide, 'Do we want to continue to have all of these illegals? Are we going to allow our governor, attorney general and mayor to get away with this?'" Comer said.
The congressman told Trump to abandon Minneapolis because Democrat mayors made it difficult.
Surrender.
MAGA Base Explodes Over Republican Betrayal
The backlash hit Comer like a freight train.
Conservative commentator Auron MacIntyre captured what Trump's base was thinking: "The GOP was always the real enemy. The cowards and traitors in the 'conservative' movement must be defeated before victory over the left is possible."
Another prominent account labeled Comer "Exhibit A of Why the 'Controlled Opposition' Republican Party Rolled Over" and said he "recommends ICE Retreat."
One conservative posted: "This communist color revolution must be crushed!"
Establishment Republicans refuse to understand something Trump's base learned years ago.
Demanding border enforcement means nothing if Republicans wave the white flag when Democrats organize street protests.
Obama weaponized the IRS against conservatives without consequences.
Hillary Clinton deleted 33,000 emails and walked free.
Trump won twice because he fights back.
Comer wants him to run away from Minneapolis because the mayor doesn't like ICE.
Republican weakness created Trump.
The Establishment Pattern That Built the MAGA Movement
Republicans like Comer talk tough on immigration during campaigns.
Enforcement gets messy and they fold.
Trump spent $170 billion in Republican-passed funding to build ICE into a 22,000-strong force to crack down on sanctuary cities.
The administration deployed thousands of agents to Minneapolis, Chicago, and other Democrat strongholds to enforce immigration law after years of Biden's open borders.
Force Democrat mayors to choose between protecting criminal illegal aliens or protecting their citizens.
Comer handed those mayors an escape hatch.
Every sanctuary city now knows the formula: organize protests, make enforcement dangerous, and establishment Republicans will pressure Trump to leave.
Trump Refuses Comer's Advice
Trump's Minneapolis operations began after his administration designated MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other violent gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.
Federal agents flooded Minnesota's Twin Cities to arrest criminal illegal aliens who operated freely under Democrat sanctuary policies for years.
Minneapolis experienced deadly confrontations earlier this month when ICE agents shot another resident, Renée Good.
The back-to-back shootings triggered massive street protests.
Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey demanded Trump remove ICE and Border Patrol agents from their state.
Make enforcement ugly enough and Republicans will cave.
Comer proved them right.
Trump proved them wrong.
The President told The Wall Street Journal that agents will leave Minnesota "at some point" but rejected any timeline based on Democrat demands.
He dispatched Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to personally oversee operations.
Doubling down the exact moment Comer suggested backing off.
Trump knows what Comer doesn't: let Democrat obstruction determine where federal law gets enforced and the entire fight is lost.
Republicans Give Democrats What They Want
Comer's surrender talk reveals the divide in the Republican Party.
Establishment Republicans think they can manage Democrat conflicts through compromise and retreat.
Trump's base knows Democrats never compromise, they pocket concessions and demand more.
Other establishment Republicans are making the same mistake.
House Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino requested testimony from ICE leadership about the shootings.
RINO Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) demanded probes into federal tactics.
Treating law enforcement officers defending themselves as the problem instead of the sanctuary policies that created the crisis.
Trump's approval on immigration dropped from 49% in March to 38% in January according to AP-NORC polling.
Establishment Republicans think that means Trump should retreat and moderate enforcement.
Operations like Minneapolis expose the reality most Americans never see on the nightly news.
Illegal aliens protected by Democrat mayors.
Armed protesters confronting federal agents.
Violence when cities refuse to enforce immigration law.
Americans don't like seeing that reality.
Retreating to easier cities hides the problem.
Forcing every sanctuary city to face the same choice exposes it: enforce the law or explain to voters why criminal illegal aliens matter more than American citizens.
Comer wants Trump to let Minneapolis off the hook.
Trump's base wants Minneapolis made into the example of what happens when Democrats choose illegal aliens over public safety.
MAGA erupted over Comer's surrender talk because Trump's base finally has a President willing to enforce immigration law in the hardest places against the toughest resistance.
Establishment Republicans want him to quit.
Sources:
- Cullen Linebarger, "MAGA Erupts After House Oversight Chair James Comer Reveals Why He Thinks Trump Should Consider Yanking ICE Agents Out of Minnesota," The Gateway Pundit, January 26, 2026.
- Erin Kelly, "Kentucky Republican suggests Trump consider moving ICE from Minnesota," Spectrum News, January 26, 2026.
- Rebecca Santana and Mark Vancleave, "Republican calls are growing for a deeper investigation into fatal Minneapolis shooting," Associated Press, January 25, 2026.
- Rebecca Santana and Michael Balsamo, "Trump's ICE force is sweeping America. Billions in his tax and spending cuts bill are paying for it," NBC News, January 20, 2026.
