Donald Trump has been caught off guard’ as Dems blindside him with new ‘leverage’: analyst
President Donald Trump has suddenly realized that Democrats have him boxed in over the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota. According to political writer Greg Sargent, Trump doesn’t actually want to change course, but he now understands that the anger coming from Democrats — and the public — has grown so strong that he needs to calm things down before it spins completely out of control.
On the surface, it looks like Trump is backing off. Media reports say he has “softened” his tone and taken a more cooperative approach. He spoke politely with Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, and his administration is hinting at a possible change in how ICE raids are handled. Officials are floating words like “pivot,” “de-escalation,” and “new strategy,” trying to create the impression that Trump is pulling back from his aggressive tactics in Minneapolis.
But Sargent argues that this is mostly for show. In reality, Trump is not truly changing anything. Instead, he is shifting blame onto one Border Patrol official, Greg Bovino, who has been linked to the deadly shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Bovino is being reassigned to California, but that’s where accountability seems to end. No serious investigations are underway, no top officials are being punished, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faces no consequences at all. There is also no real evidence that the administration plans to stop or significantly alter its enforcement methods.
What has changed, according to Sargent, is Trump’s awareness of political danger. He now sees that Democrats are angry, unified, and potentially powerful enough to shut down the federal government again. They are pushing back hard against the Department of Homeland Security’s actions in Minneapolis and are demanding limits on DHS funding and authority. Trump knows this could threaten his agenda, so his main goal is to cool Democratic outrage just enough to keep everything functioning the way it already is.
Sargent writes that Trump appears genuinely surprised by how far this situation has gone. The backlash has grown faster and stronger than he expected. Democrats suddenly have leverage, and public opinion has sharply turned against him — especially over the violent raids and the way the victims were publicly smeared. In response, Trump reportedly told his press secretary to distance him from Stephen Miller’s claim that Alex Pretti was a “domestic terrorist.” At the same time, aides are quietly leaking stories to the media about Trump’s supposed “pivot” and efforts to calm tensions.
In the end, Sargent says the situation has escaped Trump’s control. What began as a show of force has turned into something much bigger, with widespread public anger and political momentum that Trump can no longer easily direct or contain. For someone who prides himself on manipulating public emotion and staying one step ahead, Trump now clearly understands that this time, the chaos he unleashed is no longer bending to his will.
