Politics

Minnesota Dems are trying to walk a tightrope with Trump

Published

5 months ago

January 30, 2026

Minnesota Democrats are figuring out the delicate art of Trump diplomacy this week.

First, President Donald Trump had a “very good call” with Gov. Tim Walz, an inflection point after days of heated GOP attacks on the former vice presidential candidate. Then, Trump declared he’d had another “very good” conversation, this time with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Both sides had been looking to deescalate, and Trump seemed to be turning a corner on the two Democratic “sanctimonious political fools” he had initially blamed after the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Then the mayor accidentally broke the detente.

After meeting with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, Frey reiterated on social media that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws,” which a person close to Frey said was simply intended as “clarifying what our stance was.” But Trump quickly shot back, declaring Frey’s “statement is a very serious violation of the Law” and warning the mayor that “he is PLAYING WITH FIRE.”

Trump’s response “surprised” the mayor, according to the person close to him, who was granted anonymity to speak about a sensitive issue. This person said city officials saw Trump’s response “as a threat.” Nonetheless, Frey, in recent appearances on BLN and at the National Mayor’s Conference in Washington on Thursday said “the Operation Metro Surge needs to end” while eschewing the kind of combative rhetoric that he had used over the weekend. Homan told reporters on Thursday morning that he’d asked for immigration agencies to work on a “drawdown plan.” After a tense day or two, the fragile peace appeared to be holding.

The episode illustrates just how delicate the ongoing talks to deescalate the crisis in Minnesota are with a president known for his capricious and erratic negotiating style. As Democrats across the country see a rare political opening on immigration, Minnesota Democrats are first and foremost trying to end the immigration crackdown in their own state. Despite their public confidence, they’re privately on tenterhooks over whether Trump will take the exit ramp.

“This back and forth [between Trump and Frey] is unhelpful,” said one Minnesota Democratic strategist, granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. “Strategically, I wouldn’t have phrased it that way. It’s not a huge mistake, but it’s not helpful.”

It’s a lesson foreign leaders are deeply familiar with already: Diplomatic breakthroughs with Trump can come fast, and fall apart just as quickly. European officials have regularly had to scramble to respond to the president’s controversial statements on the war in Ukraine or the ownership of Greenland with highly deferential overtures in both public and private. They’ve had mixed success.

Throughout Trump’s second term, Democrats have struggled to find their footing in negotiations with the president. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer drew fury from his own party for voting for a GOP-drafted continuing resolution in March. In October, Democrats forced what would become the longest government shutdown in US history over health care funding, but they emerged from it without any tangible deliverables. But in Minnesota, Democrats appear to hold the political upper hand, as Trump’s polling numbers, particularly his handling of immigration, plummeted in recent weeks — and he signals eagerness to cut a face-saving deal.

“Everyone needs to give something here to move on from this,” one Minnesota union chief said — adding that it can be difficult to do. A Democratic operative in the state expressed hope that Frey’s post was merely “a bump on the exit ramp.”

But not all Minnesota Democrats agree that playing ball is the way forward. “Being nice isn’t somehow going to stop Donald Trump when anything can set him off,” said Ron Harris, a Democratic National Committee member from Minnesota. Frey’s post, he said, simply “emphasized what the law is.”

A spokesperson for Frey said in a statement that “the mayor has been communicating both publicly and privately, including to the president and Tom Homan, that Minneapolis would be happy to partner on criminal investigations, and that’s what we’re focusing our limited law enforcement resources on.”

It’s unclear when the Trump administration will end its operation in Minnesota, though the president appears motivated to do so. The Trump administration has already pulled back in other states. Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins said that ICE has “ended its enhanced activities” in Maine after politicians on both sides of the aisle urged the agency to stop.

For Democrats studying Trump diplomacy, Walz and Frey may offer a template in some of their tonal differences. Interviews with nearly a dozen Minnesota Democrats said the pair were largely aligned in substance, and the rhetorical daylight, highlighted by the social media scuffle with Trump, reflects their differing constituencies and styles — and political realities.

Last November, Frey held off a stiff challenge from the left from state Sen. Omar Fateh, a Democratic Socialist, to win reelection. But the progressive wing of the party retook the majority on city council, too. “He’s facing a lot of internal pressure” from the city council to “continue calling out the craziness,” said a Democratic strategist who, like others, was granted anonymity to candidly discuss a sensitive issue.

“Frey’s constituency is different” than Walz, the strategist said, “and in general, I think he’s been more combative … They’re also just different people with different negotiating styles.”

The 44-year-old mayor is also seen as a potential statewide candidate, layering in its own political calculations. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s gubernatorial run — and departure from the Senate — could likely open up another statewide office after 2026.

Walz, for his part, is unshackled from an immediate political future. The two-term governor dropped his reelection bid earlier this month, after a welfare fraud scandal in the state threatened to engulf his campaign. Walz acknowledged the scandal affected his decision and Republicans were eager to tie him to it, but he has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Abou Amara, a Minneapolis civil rights attorney, said Frey’s aggressive rhetoric toward the beginning of the federal government’s intervention was “necessary,” but now “everyone understands there has to be a ratcheting down.”

“The mayor is obviously closer to the people, he understands the visceral pain and the trauma that the people are experiencing,” Amara said. “The governor is operating on a level of having a bit more authority here on how the state interacts with the federal government. … Governor Walz is in a position to deliver on things with the federal government in a way that the mayor is not.”

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Politics

Trump gets the complete domination he wanted in Louisiana

Published

21 minutes ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump just finished the job in Louisiana.

First, he successfully ousted Sen. Bill Cassidy — a longtime rival who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges — last month. Then on Saturday, Trump got his preferred pick, Rep. Julia Letlow, over the finish line in the runoff to replace the senator.

It was a return to form after several recent misses in primaries, with Trump’s endorsed candidates going down in Iowa and Georgia and after the Republican he initially endorsed in South Carolina flopped. Saturday’s result reaffirms his grip on the Republican party: With Trump’s backing, Letlow overcame a late surge from rival John Fleming, the hardline conservative state treasurer who was also trying to rally the MAGA base behind him.

Letlow’s win sends another Trump ally to Washington, continuing the MAGA takeover of the party, and shows the continuing power of Trump’s blessing that lifts candidates even when others have conservative credentials of their own. It also bolsters the power of GOP Gov. Jeff Landry, whose steadfast support of Letlow was also crucial to her victory.

This primary was the latest test of an emerging question that will help shape the future of the GOP: How powerful is Trump’s endorsement against opponents who are also MAGA acolytes?

Unlike in primaries pitting MAGA against the establishment or against the president’s enemies — which MAGA is clearly winning — several contests this year have involved multiple candidates all seeking to run in the America First lane. In Louisiana and Alabama, Trump’s endorsees won, though both Letlow and Rep. Barry Moore were given a major run for their money by fellow pro-Trump candidates. But in a pair of governor’s contests, Rick Jackson’s billions helped him clinch the nomination in Georgia and Zach Lahn pulled off a surprise upset in Iowa, as both bear-hugged the president.

Fleming, a House Freedom caucus founder and former White House aide, ran as an unabashed Trump ally and spent the campaign arguing he represented MAGA’s ideological roots. He tried to cast Letlow as the establishment pick powered by elected officials rather than grassroots conservatives.

But Republican primary voters ultimately sided with the candidate carrying Trump’s seal of approval.

“Tonight’s runoff proves one indisputable fact: Donald Trump’s endorsement remains the apex predator of Republican politics,” said Louisiana GOP strategist Lionel Rainey. “Masterclass in raw electoral power.”

In one of the country’s reddest states, Letlow now enters the general as the overwhelming favorite to win in November. She’s up against Jamie Davis, a farmer, who won the Democratic runoff on Saturday.

Letlow’s likely ascent to the Senate marks a rapid rise in Louisiana politics: She won a special election to the House in 2021 to fill the seat of her husband, who died from Covid in 2020 just days before being sworn in. She jumped into the Senate race after Trump publicly endorsed her.

“President Trump, thank you for encouraging me to get into this race, thank you for your endorsement, Louisiana loves you,” Letlow said in her victory speech Saturday night.

Yet Trump’s endorsement of Letlow was not quite a knock-out punch. In the May primary, Cassidy, a top MAGA target, received less than 25 percent of the vote, and Letlow finished far ahead of the others — but she did not get enough to reach 50 percent support to avoid a runoff.

In the Saturday runoff, Letlow ran hard on Trump’s endorsement but Fleming also gained significant ground since his second-place finish in the first round of voting, and finished just 14 points behind Letlow, with nearly all the votes counted.

“Yes I love the heat of battle. I love the combat,” Fleming told supporters in his concession speech. “But it makes us stronger. It really makes us better.”

Letlow, who hails from north Louisiana, benefitted from outside national groups spending on her behalf, including the official political arm of the Make American Healthy Again movement, which pledged $1 million to boost her campaign.

Her victory is a sigh of relief for Landry, who invested tremendous political capital in getting her to the Senate, sometimes to a degree that frustrated fellow Republicans. Landry pressured donors to open their wallets for her campaign, and a super PAC aligned with the governor spent about $6 million on her behalf, mostly toward assailing Fleming with attacks about his stances on carbon capture and the border.

It’s unclear whether Landry will face a serious primary challenger when he’s up for reelection next year, but a Letlow loss would have made him more vulnerable to intraparty criticisms and skepticism about his political strength.

Some Louisiana Republicans immediately speculated that Fleming may now consider running against Landry. One Louisiana Republican, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about party dynamics, called it “payback.”

Landry, in a statement, congratulated Letlow “on her decisive victory,” and said the representative ran “an incredible race fueled by the support of President Donald J. Trump and hardworking Louisianians across our state.”

Politics

How the World Cup became a victory lap for Trump ally El Tigre

Published

21 minutes ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

MIAMI — Colombia’s World Cup run has become a celebration of more than just its national team: For many fans, it’s also a victory lap for the country’s Trump-backed president-elect.

Political rookie Abelardo de la Espriella — a right-wing former defense attorney and businessman who calls himself “El Tigre” — narrowly saw off a left-wing senator last weekend as Colombia swung from far-left to hard-right leadership. De la Espriella ran for president on a tough law-and-order platform, vowing to end outgoing left-wing President Gustavo Petro’s attempts to establish dialogue with armed groups. He also wants to build mega-prisons, emulating those of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, another Trump favorite in Latin America.

Fans who Blue Light News spoke with outside the stadium in Miami on Saturday evening before a key game against Portugal were insistent that de la Espriella is going to make Colombia great again.

With de la Espriella’s victory, “There is no more corruption, there is no more guerrilla, there is security … it’s gonna be great,” said Hugo, a 62-year-old who lives in Miami but is originally from the Colombian capital Bogotá. “Just give him one year, and you will see the new Colombia,” added Alonso, 42, originally from Ibagué, who disputed that the election was as close (around one percentage point) as the official results showed — and said a combination of Trump and de la Espriella would be great for Colombia.

Colombia’s brilliant-yellow soccer jersey, ubiquitous in downtown Miami this week, also became a key flashpoint on the campaign trail, as de la Espriella — running to restore security, shrink the state and promote economic growth through deregulation — clothed himself in the kit.

In the sunshine outside Miami’s World Cup stadium, Juan, from Cartagena, said he liked de la Espriella wearing the soccer jersey because “it shows his whole campaign is about patriotism and to save the country, to give hope to the people.”

A Bogotá judge banned de la Espriella and his movement, Defensores de la Patria (Defenders of the Homeland), from using or displaying the jersey for his electoral campaign, and the left-wing candidate, Iván Cepeda, said, “The Colombian national team belongs to all Colombians. Its use for electoral, personal, and ideological purposes is a clearly opportunistic act, the legal implications of which must be examined.”

In response to a post-match question from Blue Light News about the president-elect wearing the shirt and backing the team, Colombian coach Néstor Lorenzo said, “Football is played in a very passionate way in South America. I think that all the presidents, the South American countries, live in that passion. It is a way for us to identify, beyond the flag, the shirt that represents the most beautiful sport of all. The president wants to show, surely, that he is a real citizen.”

Only one yellow-clad supporter showed any reticence about de la Espriella, shaking his head and saying “it’s crazy” what’s happening in Colombia, before declining to talk more about politics or provide his name.

The Trump administration has embraced de la Espriella. Trump praised him as a “Smart, Strong, and Tough Leader.” At the game in Miami on Saturday evening, two senior U.S. officials — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FBI Director Kash Patel — were in attendance, flanking FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Last time Colombia played at the World Cup in the United States, it all ended in tragedy.

Defender Andrés Escobar scored an own goal against the U.S. at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California — then was shot dead outside a nightclub after returning to Colombia, a country still grappling with violence involving guerrilla groups and criminal organizations.

The dark-horse national team is performing considerably better in 2026 than in 1994, progressing easily to the second round. But political turmoil endures at home, where the bitterly fought election campaign — that came down to a June 21 runoff between de la Espriella and Cepeda — saw an assassination, bombings and kidnappings.

That specter of violence — even soccer-linked violence — is rarely far away in Colombia. The father of star soccer player Luis Díaz was kidnapped in late 2023 by far-left guerrillas, and only freed after 13 days.

As Colombia celebrated what it erroneously thought was a late winner against Portugal, the live broadcast cut to a jubilant supporter, cheering and wearing a red Defensores de la Patria hat.

Politics

Palestinian flags fly in Texas

Published

3 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jordan’s final World Cup match against Argentina gave its fans a chance to show their national colors one last time on the international stage. And, as they have throughout the tournament, many of them also used the opportunity to show support for Palestine.

Lots of Jordanians have roots in Palestine, and they brought those loyalties with them. Many people in the crowd wore black-and-white checked keffiyehs that are a symbol of Palestinian roots.

“Our Palestinian brothers and sisters are never far from our thoughts,” said Issah Essoh, a 32-year-old software consultant from Jordan who lives in Houston, said as fans filed into their seats.

Mohammed Abu Arayes, 37, who was visiting from Riyadh with his family for the match, is of Jordanian and Palestinian heritage. He was decked out in Jordanian colors and his wife sported a t-shirt emblazoned with “Palestine.”

He’s been happy with the reception, even amid a sea of Argentina fans sporting blue-and-white jerseys. “The Argentine people have been very welcoming,” Abu Arayes said.