'Openly Admitting': Critics Rip Trump For 'Dehumanizing' Sunday Night Announcement

Critics are calling out President Donald Trump for a divisive Sunday night announcement that law enforcement would target migrants in cities at 'the core of the Democrat Power Center.'
Trump said on Truth Social that he was ordering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct 'the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.'
He wrote that he was expanding operations in the nation's biggest cities, including Los Angeles ― where he has already sent the military to contend with recurring protests against his immigration policies ― as well as Chicago and New York.
'These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens,' Trump claimed. 'These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it! There is something wrong with them.'
The president's rant came just one day after a gunman shot and killed a Democratic lawmaker and her husband, shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker and his wife, and reportedly had a manifesto targeting 'many lawmakers and other officials.'
The president's critics fired back:
He's openly admitting that he's politicizing law enforcement. This will not help ICE's image because he's asking them to perform a political task. Throw in the decision to shield the red states from law enforcement and he's clearly hoping to provoke an angry response. At a… https://t.co/KqwM51Wzpl
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) June 16, 2025
"These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!"This sort of dehumanizing language about political opponents is exactly what leads to the horrific shootings we saw yesterday.… https://t.co/E5ecuTomzT
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 16, 2025
I'm trying to imagine a Democratic president saying openly and proudly that he would be sending federal agents to target the 'Republican Power Center' in Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. We would be in the midst of a civil war before he'd finished saying those words. https://t.co/Le5z2RmdQu
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) June 16, 2025
This is Trump's plan. During Covid he withheld PPE and ventilators from large blue cities. Many more died in those locations, especially minorities, due to his political corruption. Now, he's admitting that's the reason he wants to focus on blue cities, again. He thinks he can…
— Bill Johnson (@Bill43111) June 16, 2025
The thing is, millions of people believe what this guy is saying. And if you truly believe that 'democrats hate our country and want to destroy it', then it makes violence against them not just acceptable, but preferrable. It's truly unprecedented to have a president like this. https://t.co/THI5xN5JzGpic.twitter.com/jLVERBsCfa
— Centrism Fan Acct 🔹 (@Wilson__Valdez) June 16, 2025
The day after a political assassination, the president of the United States spews divisive hatred and seeks to pit Americans against each other. Utterly disgusting. https://t.co/RTqPfEsl4G
— Jennifer Erin Valent 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@JenniferEValent) June 16, 2025
This is all bullshit btw. Someone's mad more people went to protests in all these cities than showed up for his pitiful birthday celebration. https://t.co/qjd5Z2L2JP
— Brian Particelli (@BrianParticelli) June 16, 2025
I'm sure Republicans would be totally cool if a Democratic President called on federal law enforcement to target 'Republican Power Centers' like Texas.Every time this guy has a chance to de-escalate he finds a way to instead make things worse. https://t.co/N5ZEUnsgNf
— Derek Martin (@dmartkc) June 16, 2025
It's amazing how much of this is just *objectively* false. The whole "they're using illegals as voters" thing is an objective lie. Big blue cities have low voter turnout relative to the adult population, which is what you'd expect if many aren't citizens. Plus median age is low. https://t.co/acflSONaQ4
— Sir Humphrey 🇺🇦 (@bdquinn) June 16, 2025
Trump basically just declared war on blue cities 'We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, and other such Cities, are the… pic.twitter.com/rIBLxBP0nm
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 16, 2025
He's really going to try to occupy blue cities and try to control them. This is ridiculous and he's only fueling more dissent
— Sycamore's Source (@sycamoressource) June 16, 2025
Two of the three states with the largest population of people in the U.S. illegally are the red states of Texas and Florida. Trump, notably, does not name their cities when calling on ICE to execute more aggressive immigration raids. https://t.co/X072YC9cSBpic.twitter.com/ZjpfOj76Vj
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 16, 2025
Funny how he didn't mention anywhere in Texas. pic.twitter.com/Ss4lciooyv
— J O H N (@johnholowach) June 16, 2025
Someone is big mad about the crowds at the No Kings protests yesterday.
— Dave Wakeman ↙️ (@dave_wakeman) June 16, 2025

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CNN

7 minutes ago

• CNN

‘Our fans are feeling in fear': One year out from the World Cup, Mexico supporters are avoiding matches due to ICE concerns

When the Mexico men's national soccer team comes to Los Angeles, you tend to know about it. In March, when Javier Aguirre's team beat Panama 2-1, 68,212 people packed the stands at SoFi Stadium. Before June 14, the average attendance across the three games that El Tri had played in Inglewood in the last year was 63,760. 'We fill every single stadium because we want to feel closer to Mexico,' says Paco Rubén, founder and coordinator of US-based Mexico national team supporters' group Cielito Lindo, in an interview with CNN Sports. 'It doesn't matter if you're documented or not, we just want to feel that we're in Mexico for a day and live that party.' That all changed on June 14. Amid the backdrop of the Trump administration's federal immigration sweeps – and the resulting protests in LA and across the US – only 54,309 were at SoFi for Mexico's 3-2 victory over the Dominican Republic in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, almost 10,000 fewer than Mexico's average at SoFi over the last 12 months. The attendance was just 4,000 more than the record low at SoFi for El Tri, which came against Canada on a Thursday evening in March when the team had not won back-to-back games for nearly two years. Hours before the game on June 14, tickets that had cost an average of $75 at the box office were being sold on resale sites for less than $30, according to ESPN. 'The experience was completely different from what a normal national team game is like,' Luis Espinosa, founder and director of fan channel Sigo al Tri, tells CNN Sports. 'In the stands, it was a bit of a cold atmosphere.' One of those missing from the stadium was Rubén who, along with the entirety of Cielito Lindo, decided not to attend the match out of solidarity with those affected by the immigration sweeps in LA. 'We all saw the images of what happened a week or two weeks prior to that game, and it just didn't feel like our place was on the field at that moment,' he explains. 'It didn't feel like our place was in the stadium when most of our people – literally most of our members of the movement Cielito Lindo – were either going to be at the protest, or were going to be at home, clearly in fear, just protecting their family.' Rubén and the group did not make the decision lightly. 'I plan everything around the national team schedule,' he says. 'I can't imagine going to a wedding or to a family birthday party or to a family gathering without checking the calendar first and saying like 'Hey, you know what? Mexico plays that day. I can't go to your wedding.' My friends know I'm not lying when I say that.' The decision was also taken by Cielito Lindo – as well as the team's two other principal US-based supporters' groups, Pancho Villa's Army and Patrones de México – to cancel the pregame tailgate parties that are usually such a fixture ahead of Mexico matches. 'For us, (the pregame festivities) are the best time for us to share with our friends and to be able to give that experience to the people,' says Cielito Lindo co-coordinator Livette Ruvalcaba in an interview with CNN Sport. 'Being outside of Mexico, it's already hard enough. So that day is specifically the day we feel the most Mexican, you know? It's a time when families bring their kids, and we want to give that experience to the kids as well. 'Our soccer heart wanted to be there,' she adds. 'So it was just really hard to make the decision. We've been going to support the national team for many years, ever since I was a little girl. Now, as an actual group, it's been over 10 years non-stop that we've been going. 'But it was just really hard for us not to be all together there.' With concerns growing in some circles ahead of Saturday's Gold Cup game that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents might be present at SoFi, for many the decision not to attend was borne not only out of solidarity, but of genuine fears over their own safety and potential future in the US. Those fears were not allayed when US Customs and Border Protection, in a post to social media which has since been deleted, promised to be 'suited and booted' for the first round of the FIFA Club World Cup, which also kicked off in the US on June 14 and features two Mexican teams. The day before the game against the Dominican Republic, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called on US authorities not to carry out immigration enforcement targeting those in attendance. CNN has reached out to ICE for comment on whether its agents have been or will be present at any matches during this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup or FIFA Club World Cup. Reports suggest that the security presence at SoFi on June 14 was normal. 'There were patrol cars and police there keeping watch, but nothing happened like we or other people expected, which was something a bit more violent,' says Espinosa. But it was too late for those who had decided not to attend, many of whom, Rubén says, are still afraid of going about their daily lives and attending upcoming soccer matches. 'Our fans are feeling in fear. Our group members are feeling in fear,' he says. 'Especially because, even if you are documented, the videos we are seeing, it doesn't seem that they're asking anybody if they're documented or not.' Those fears may well have deepened on Thursday when federal agents arrived just outside the parking lot at Dodger Stadium before an MLB game between LA and the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers claimed that they had denied ICE agents entry to the grounds, while the Department for Homeland Security claimed that the agents were not from ICE and that their presence was not related to any operation or enforcement. But, according to Rubén, concerns that ICE may target those in attendance at sports events have been brewing long before the events of the last few weeks. 'For the Gold Cup final (in 2023) at SoFi, Mexico versus Panama, Cielito Lindo sold 800 tickets – that means two sections of the stadium together,' he explains. 'For the final of the Nations League, which happened in March (this year) – but there was already all these rumors about the new administration changes and stuff like that – we only sold 50.' On that occasion, Rubén says, one family which normally buys at least 50 tickets bought just 11, telling Rubén that 'only the documented people are going to be able to go.' 'This was in March, when we didn't see any of the craziness that we've been seeing in the last two weeks. People were already in fear,' says Rubén. Many fans have felt let down by the reaction of the team's manager. When asked to comment on the situation in the buildup to the June 14 game, Aguirre – who was born in Mexico City – replied: 'I'm not a spokesperson for Mexicans. I'm the coach of the Mexican national team.' For Cielito Lindo, it was the final nail in the coffin. 'His words were literally what triggered us to make the final decision of not going because we didn't feel backed up,' Ruvalcaba tells CNN Sports. 'We've always been there,' she continues. 'We do everything to be there and support the team and try our best to pass this on to other people. And hearing those words from him literally broke our hearts because we didn't feel supported. 'I just wanted to cry, honestly,' she adds. 'We were not asking for anything more than empathy.' Aguirre was slightly more forthcoming following the game against the Dominican Republic, but still declined to make a statement on the situation in the US. 'The best way to support them is to give them more than just victory, an effort. People identify with their flag, with their anthem, with their players who give it their all. That's what concerns us,' he said. 'We are football professionals, and it's the best way to represent our fellow countrymen in this moment – a complicated moment. We have to do our part on the field.' But, with Mexican soccer entering one of the biggest years in its history and President Donald Trump's immigration agenda remaining difficult to predict, it seems unlikely that this discussion will simply go away. The June 14 game against the Dominican Republic was the first in Mexico's efforts to defend the Gold Cup title it won in 2023. The win, coupled with a second victory over Suriname on Wednesday night, means that Mexico has already qualified for the quarterfinals. But Cielito Lindo will not be there to see whether the team can retain the crown, having taken the decision on Tuesday night not to attend any of the remaining Gold Cup fixtures. 'We were going to be in (Las) Vegas this weekend, and then we were going to be in Phoenix next weekend, and we were going to be in Texas for the final. So we already had flight reservations, hotel reservations, party reservations, you name it,' says Rubén. 'But it definitely wouldn't feel right leaving our friends and family behind, knowing that they couldn't be there. We have really close friends in particular that were going to be at this game in Vegas with us, and they were just like, 'I can't even go out of my house right now.'' The absence of one of the national team's three largest US-based supporters' groups could indicate the start of a worrying period for Mexican soccer ahead of a busy stateside schedule. Alongside the national team's efforts, CF Monterrey and CF Pachuca are both currently representing the nation against some of the biggest teams on the planet in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup. Looming even larger is the 2026 World Cup, which Mexico will host for the first time since 1986, alongside the US and Canada. With less than a year until the first game kicks off at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, fans are concerned that further raids could overshadow what is meant to be a joyous occasion. 'We hope this is something that's very short and we can move on from it and just go ahead and celebrate because we are a very happy people,' Sigo al Tri member Rafael Baqueiro tells CNN Sports. 'We hope we can move on from this and keep going towards the World Cup. Mexico needs that push and that the fans be present.' Espinosa is in agreement. 'The fear that our compatriots carry in terms of different situations regarding documentation or legality in the United States is noticeable, and it's something that unfortunately could occur in upcoming games or even in the next World Cup,' he says. 'We wish with all our strength that there is no violence. Don't endanger the integrity of our compatriots, nor our friends that we have there (in the US).'

Chicago Tribune

15 minutes ago

• Chicago Tribune

Editorial: U.S. bombs fall in Iran

Saturday evening, President Donald Trump announced on social media that the U.S. had dropped 'a full payload of bombs' on Iran's most important nuclear site, Fordow, as well as completing strikes on Natanz and Isfahan. The stunning action, which came sooner than even close observers anticipated and is without obvious precedent, embroiled the U.S., for better or worse, in the middle of the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. Saturday June 22 turned out to be a historic day with likely far-reaching consequences for the Middle East. Consider: An American attack unfolded inside Iran. Many Americans were unnerved by the President's action and understandably so, given the likelihood of an Iranian response, as we write yet unknown. What should be made of Trump's action? We would have preferred the President had given more time to diplomacy, always preferable to war. His 'two-week' deadline appears to have been a ruse and we prefer that the President of the United States keep his word. And we would have preferred the involvement of Congress. Our qualms do not mean we believe that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's oppressive and theocratic Iranian regime, which has fought proxy wars by propping up the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah, should be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. Nobody wants that to happen, beginning with Israel, of course, but including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and, well, every nation where rational people dominate public discourse. How close the Iran regime really is to building a nuclear weapon is contested. Those of us with long memories can remember Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talking about the imminence of an Iranian nuclear bomb as far back as 1996. More than 20 years ago, Netanyahu was again saying that Iran was very close to building a bomb that could reach the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. All this time, Iran has kept insisting its nuclear program is only for peaceful, civilian purposes. On the other hand, nuclear watchdogs also have consistently raised concerns about the growth of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and Khamenei's regime has not exactly been a model of cooperation. Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said, 'is the only non-nuclear-weapon state in the world that is producing and accumulating uranium enriched to 60 percent.' That does not constitute evidence of a plan to build a bomb in and of itself, but the higher the level of enrichment, the closer the uranium gets to 90% weapons grade, and Iran's enrichment level is widely viewed by experts as a significant step closer to weapons grade. For the average American, the truth is not easy to discern even from our own officials. Take U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's testimony to Congress this past March. On the one hand, she said the view of the intelligence community was that 'Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.' On the other, she also said Iran was suddenly talking a lot more about nuclear weapons. That might sound vague, but it's actually highly significant, given the regime's hatred of Israel and the battles with the Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. It's likely that the intra-Iranian discourse has shifted in the light of Israeli aggression. As one of the attendees at the American Nuclear Society's conference in Chicago this past week told us, there likely are those within the Iranian program who are more than interested in building a nuclear bomb to protect the regime, even if the majority are scientists interested only in peaceful, civilian uses and either ambivalent or silently hostile toward Khamenei. The question that does not get enough attention is the balance of power. Some in the latter category, she told us, already have been killed by Israel, much to their colleagues' regret. Some of those in the former category who are still alive thus are most likely newly emboldened. At the time of writing, it was unclear how much Saturday night changed that equation. No doubt there are Iranian voices speaking in favor of a major response. One can only hope other voices are arguing for caution, not least for the people of Iraq who awoke in fear Sunday morning. In terms of realpolitik, of course, Israel most wants regime change in Iran. So does the vast majority of the Iranian diaspora, including some we know in Chicago. So does the vast majority of the Iranian people, given Khamenei's repression of women, his stealing of elections, his meeting of dissent with brutal violence, his funding of terror, his denouncement of opposing voices. And that's only the start of the list. This is not a regime worth defending, and recent progressive attempts to link the situation in Iran with the war in Iraq, ostensibly fought over weapons of mass destruction that did not prove to exist at scale, are illogical. This time around, the question in Iran is more about intent, not the existence or otherwise of weapons. And people's intent can change as circumstances change. What is worth debating is whether the Israeli attacks will make the end of the Khamenei regime more likely. You could argue the events of the last several days are weakening Khamenei. You could also argue that spring does not arrive when the sky is full of bombs and people are fleeing Tehran as fast as humanly possible. So where should you stand? Not with the MAGA isolationists, certainly, who claim that none of this has anything to do with this country, a view widely assumed to be cleaving the MAGA movement in two, which is no bad thing in our view. That's not to say the likes of Tucker Carlson are wrong about the potential costs of a war with Iraq; all wars extract their price and too little stateside attention is being paid in our view to the danger of nuclear contamination, which is rightly front of mind in the Persian Gulf States, even though those states are no fans of the Iranian regime and want it gone. But the horse bolted decades ago when it comes to U.S. involvement in the Middle East. But we also don't recommending standing with those far leftists who view Iran as benign, its hatred of Israel as overblown and who overlook Khamenei's human rights abuses to fit some anti-capitalist narrative. When you see the extremes of American political discourse getting into bed together, that's a great moment to leave the bedroom. What has changed the most, of course, is that the Oct. 7 attacks changed the Israeli mindset vis-a-vis Iran, and that Netanyahu calculated that the Trump administration would be more supportive of the kind of systemic change in the region that Israel now sees as crucial to its security. He was not wrong. Trump, we all know by now, is a born improviser, which can be dangerous in situations like these. Some would argue his application of force was necessary if we want to get Iran to halt its nuclear activities. The other view is that actually dropping some massive bomb deep down into the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo will not be worth the cost. Adding to the complexity, arguably the redundancy, of that question is the reality that Israel was not going to stop, whatever the U.S. did or did not do in its support. One hopeful interpretation is that the U.S. action ends with this move against the nuclear facilities and that the talking now starts again. This weekend, though, there is reason to worry about the Iranian people, most of whom long for a deal wherein Khamenei and his crew hop a plane and set the Iranian people free. In his social media post, Trump said this was the time for peace. May he be good for his word.

Newsweek

17 minutes ago

• Newsweek

Satellite Images Show 'Unusual' Activity at Iran Nuclear Site Before Strikes

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Satellite imagery captured ahead of U.S. strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites showed "unusual" movement around the entrance to Iran's Fordow enrichment facility. Pictures captured on Thursday and Friday showed "unusual truck and vehicular activity" close to the entrance of the underground Fordow complex south of Tehran, satellite imagery giant Maxar said late on Saturday U.S. time. A total of 16 cargo trucks were spotted on the access road leading up to the Fordow tunnel entrance on Thursday, but most of the trucks had relocated to one kilometer (0.6 miles) northwest of the access road by the following day, Maxar said. New trucks and multiple bulldozers had appeared close to the main entrance by Friday, with one truck very close to the main tunnel entrance, the satellite imagery provider said. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday evening the U.S. had bombed the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites in central Iran in "massive precision strikes" to take out Tehran's nuclear enrichment facilities and Iran's ability to make a nuclear weapon. Satellite imagery captured by Maxar on June 19 showing cargo trucks close to the underground entrance of the Fordow fuel enrichment facility, prior to U.S. air strikes on the underground complex. Satellite imagery captured by Maxar on June 19 showing cargo trucks close to the underground entrance of the Fordow fuel enrichment facility, prior to U.S. air strikes on the underground complex. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies The strikes were a "spectacular military success," Trump said. "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated." Israel launched strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and scientists, as well as the country's ballistic missile sites and other military assets, late on June 12 U.S. time. Iran responded with drone and ballistic missile barrages. Israel targeted Natanz and Isfahan, but experts said only the U.S.'s B-2 heavy stealth bombers and 30,000lb "bunker buster" bombs could successfully take out Fordow, a complex built deep into a mountain roughly 60 miles from Tehran. Fordow's existence was secret until 2009. This is a developing story and will be updated.