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From the Rachel Maddow Show
Maddow: Americans flexing democratic muscles are stronger than Trump January 26, 2026 / 08:49
Americans flex democratic muscles to show that, together, they’re stronger than Trump
The administration’s threats appear to have had the opposite of their intended effect: People are turning up with more resolve and more emotion.
Jan. 27, 2026, 3:49 PM EST
By Rachel Maddow
This is an adapted excerpt from the Jan. 26 episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
Editor’s Note: Great introduction to one of her finest, well-done, show. I’ve posted the Spotify audio podcast below for you. –DrWeb
Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who has led Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, is out of his post in Minneapolis and will return to his previous job as sector chief in El Centro, California, a senior administration official told MS NOW.
Two officials briefed on the matter also told MS NOW that there will be a reduction of Homeland Security Department officers in Minnesota.
We do not know if this is the end of what the administration has called Operation Metro Surge, the sustained, large-scale paramilitary attack on the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, but we know it’s the end of something.
We don’t yet know whose heads will roll — that, we shall see — but we do know this: The administration appears to be in retreat.
Bovino’s sudden demotion is the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration is reconsidering its most aggressive tactics after the Saturday killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by Border Patrol officers under Bovino’s command.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded to reports of Bovino’s departure, writing on social media that he had “NOT been relieved of his duties,” which may be true, but it doesn’t exactly answer the questions about his future.
On Monday, The Atlantic’s Nick Miroff further reported that “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her close adviser Corey Lewandowski, who were Bovino’s biggest backers at DHS, are also at risk of losing their jobs.”
So we don’t yet know whose heads will roll — that, we shall see — but we do know this: The administration appears to be in retreat.
On Monday, Trump held conciliatory phone calls with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Both of those elected officials have been demonized by the president and his administration. Once Trump started criticizing both men, his Justice Department naturally put them both under federal investigation.
Even so, the personal threats against Minnesota’s elected leaders seemed to have the opposite of the intended effect, causing them to dig in and fight harder, and increasing their political support both in their state and around the country.
The federal government’s threats to the people of Minneapolis, federal agents’ increasingly unhinged and explosive violence toward the people of that city, and their killing of people who were protesting as well as observing and filming federal agents there, also seem to have had the opposite of the intended effect.
Those factors have caused the people of Minneapolis to recommit to being in the streets, to come out in larger numbers, with more resolve and more emotion.
It’s also sent support for them soaring all around the country. From Davenport, Iowa, to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Twin Falls, Idaho, to Traverse City, Michigan, to New York City — protests in support of the people of Minneapolis could be seen in cities big and small, blue and red.
Maddow: Trump in retreat as disastrous anti-immigrant campaign becomes political catastrophe January 26, 2026 / 08:49
At every protest I’ve ever been to, at every protest I’ve ever covered, somebody at some point starts up the chant “This is what democracy looks like.” We’ve all heard that so much that it has become kind of protest wallpaper. It feels like a generic sentiment, but it’s literally true.
The unromantic, strong, simple truth of the matter is that in our country right now, every democratic muscle that we have is flexing, and, it turns out, that is way stronger than Trump.
In the wake of Pretti’s death and the massive protests that have followed, Republicans in the Minnesota state legislature have called for de-escalation and a pause in Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
On Monday, Chris Madel, a leading Republican candidate for governor in the state, dropped out of that race, saying he cannot support his national party’s “stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
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