An awful lot of the time, you can gain a competitive advantage in partisan politics… simply by not being a total moron.
For example, take the Democrats on immigration: Electorally, it’s where the Democrats are the weakest — and it’s Trump’s greatest strength. So, if there was anyone in the Democratic Party who still had half a brain, they’d be moving Heaven and Earth to push the issue to the backburner. It’s a net-loser for ‘em.
The more they talk about it, the more they’re hurt.
Free PR Advice: Every time the Dems say ONE thing about immigration, they ought to be saying AT LEAST 20 things about the economy, inflation, housing, and cost of living! Anything less is political malpractice.
Because we’ve heard what they have to say, and it’s not good.
Essentially, the Democrats’ immigration argument is: Nobody has to follow any rules to enter the country, but it’s anti-America, immoral, and racist if you ignore a law when someone leaves.
No need for Team Trump to prep a counterargument. This won’t be a lengthy, protracted battle for hearts and minds, or a multimedia PR war. Keep your powder dry.
There’s nothing to fight about: The Dem’s argument doesn’t pass the giggle test.
The American people were predisposed to disagree with the Democrats anyway, and such a duplicitous, bad faith argument will only solidify their loyalty to MAGA. Yet again, the Democrats are looking out for them, whereas the GOP is looking out for us.
At this point, it’s a theme.
The Democrats fumbled the immigration PR assignment from the get-go. Their very first objective should’ve been to identify the most sympathetic “public face” of the immigration crackdown — the kindest, sweetest, most benevolent human you could find. (Señor Fred Rogers?) A man or woman who’s an undeniable pillar of their community — someone who exemplifies the virtues that Americans value the most. Maybe a doctor, or a teacher, or a fireman.
For PR purposes, they only needed one!
Instead, they made Kilmar Abrego Garcia their poster boy. Allegedly, he’s a gangbanging, law-breaking, violent wife-beater. Oops:
Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding “Maryland Man” the media has portrayed him as.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 16, 2025
According to court filings, Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt,… pic.twitter.com/FpSV0k3i90
It was a colossal unforced error. As we noted yesterday:
In 1955, a brave black woman refused to go to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When the bus driver ordered her to surrender her seat to a white woman, she stood her ground and was arrested.
It kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the seminal moments in civil rights history.
But the brave woman I’m referring to wasn’t Rosa Parks. (Nothing against Ms. Parks. She was, by all accounts, an exemplary woman — which was precisely why the Civil Rights Movement trumpeted her story.)
I’m talking about Claudette Colvin. She’s still alive. And, just like Ms. Parks, she was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat in Montgomery. She refused to bow to a racist law.
And her cause was just as noble as Ms. Parks’.
Unfortunately, Ms. Colvin was also unmarried and pregnant — which, back then, was a big taboo. As Rosa Parks noted, “If the white press got ahold of that information, they would have a field day. They’d call her a bad girl, and the case wouldn’t have a chance.”
The Civil Rights Movement was holding a casting call for the Public Face of Jim Crow Racism, and to their credit, they weren’t interested in a DEI hire. The part went to Rosa Parks, not Claudette Colvin, because Rosa Parks had better qualifications.
In the real world, optics matter.
One of the telltale signs of a dysfunctional political organization is its inability to prescreen candidates, causes, surrogates, and advocates. These are all low-hanging fruit, so when you can’t even do that right, it means the organization is suffering systemic strife.
And the Democrats are just starting to realize that something is rotten in Denmark.
The Hill released an absolutely HILARIOUS article today, “Republicans lean in on Abrego Garcia case.”
Keep in mind, The Hill is like most D.C. media outlets: They’re leftwing, anti-Republican, and pro-Democrat. So, the “news” they’re breaking is patently obvious to conservatives — but a jaw-dropping STUNNER for the Loony Left:
The White House and Republicans are not shying away from battling with Democrats over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Their view: It doesn’t hurt President Trump — and may even help him and the party.
“Of course it’s a winning issue. Americans support enforcing the law. Common sense tells you this and polls confirm it. If Democrats want to talk about MS-13 gang members, we’re happy to oblige them,” a senior White House official told me about the messaging in the Abrego Garcia case. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and family have disputed allegations he is in MS-13.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, went as far as to offer to pay for House Democrats’ trips to El Salvador as they demanded Abrego Garcia’s release — on the condition they “livestream the whole thing” and “snap plenty of selfies with your MS-13 buddies.”
“We’ll pay for the plane tickets, they just can’t forget to smile for the camera while they sell out their constituents,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement Monday, coming after a group of House Democrats announced travel to the country.
Remarkably, the Democrats really, truly thought this would be a winning issue for ‘em! Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) couldn’t wait to fly to El Salvador and use him as a PR sock puppet! (The Maryland senator, interestingly, was just named by Politico as one of the “most shameless attention-seekers in congress,” winning their coveted “Wannabe Leader” award. Way to go, Chris!)
When they thought this issue was a winner, it was all them. But now that there’s blowback, it’s all Donald Trump’s fault:
That is exactly what some Democrats have been worrying about as their colleagues sound the alarm about what they see as the underlying issue: the Trump administration appearing to ignore the Supreme Court’s order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the White House “picked out this case and this man because it’s about a subject that they want to keep in the news.” And California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), asked to comment on the case last week, said it was “the distraction of the day,” adding: “This is the debate they want. This is their 80/20 issue.”
The WHITE HOUSE picked this case?! The debate WE wanted?! The “distraction of the day”?!
Nobody put a gun to Sen. Hollen’s head and told him to share margaritas with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Nobody told the Democrats to memorize his name and trumpet his cause on every political show.
It was 100% their decision!
It’s not our fault that they were so stupid, they attacked Trump on what Gavin Newsom (correctly) recognizes as an 80/20 issue.
That’s on you.
Along with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, it’s time for the Democrats to deport their immigration playbook. It’s a loser, too.
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