MAGA Senator Changes His Tune on ICE Just Weeks Before Midterms

Are Republicans at risk of losing their seats in the upcoming midterm elections about to start changing their tune on President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration operations?Kansas Senator Roger Marshall issued a rare rebuke of ICE on Wednesday after local leaders and law enforcement were surprised by an increased ICE presence in Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal, and Scott City, leading to protests and business closures. “When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement. Our sheriffs and police know these communities better than anyone, and working together keeps officers and residents safe,” Marshall wrote on X.“I’m closely following what’s happening in SW Kansas and have been in direct contact with Secretary Mullin and local law enforcement as ICE executes warrants in order to keep Kansans safe.”Marshall’s sudden change of heart comes just one day after the Cook Political Report shifted its analysis of his Senate race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican,” indicating the senator’s weakening chances against Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. Online, Marshall’s true motive appeared to be obvious. “The polls are so bad that Roger suddenly thinks what ice is doing is wrong,” journalist Molly Jong-Fast wrote on X. “Kansas is in play,” Fox News’s Jessica Tarlov observed.Marshall has been among the majority of Republicans who have spent months blocking even the most modest reforms for ICE. Only now as ICE’s operations arrive at his front door can he begin to see what mayhem and tragedy this agency has wrought—and how that might cost him on Election Day.Senator Jerry Moran, the senior Republican from Kansas, also published a statement that was critical of ICE’s activities. “I am hearing from Kansans about the increased federal law enforcement presence in southwest Kansas as ICE agents carry out warrants in the area. I visited with Secretary Mullin, stressing the importance of DHS working with our local law enforcement to safely execute these warrants,” he wrote on X. “Secretary Mullin assured me these warrants are only for the purpose of arresting individuals who have been charged with criminal activities. I will remain engaged with federal and local authorities and community leaders.”President Trump could barely keep his eyes open during a press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday. Trump's eyes are getting heavy as he sits and "listens" to Xi pic.twitter.com/qJW77SbrUq— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2026 The president looked completely out of it at multiple points during Xi’s speech—eyes heavy and fluttering, body hunched forward. This is the second time this month that the 80-year-old president has appeared drowsy during an important televised meeting, the most recent one being the 9/11 memorial event at the Pentagon marking 25 years since the attack.This is a very bad look, regardless of what excuse his team and supporters spin up. The president of another major world power, and often U.S. rival, is speaking, and the guy in charge of our country can’t even try to look like he’s present and paying attention. We all deserve better.fighting total war against wokeness pic.twitter.com/RV8gC6OwPN— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2026 Eight sailors tried to kill themselves on the USS Lincoln strike group—one of the longest-deployed aircraft carriers in military history.According to a letter from acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, first reported by CNN, two sailors tried to jump overboard, one in March and another in August. Both were saved. It’s unclear how the other six attempts were carried out. Retired Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter told The New York Times that the attempts were a “disturbingly high number indicating a serious stress level.” Both President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ignored and dismissed reports of troops’ mental health issues, low food rations, and deteriorating conditions aboard the ship. A few weeks ago, Trump called the reported issues with the USS Lincoln a “CNN fake report,” saying he spoke to a retired admiral with acquaintances on the Lincoln who told him it is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.” pic.twitter.com/j1pXku1f8B https://t.co/zz3ICRomOm— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 23, 2026 Many of the 5,000 sailors, who ended their over 300-day deployment earlier this month, reported it was one of the worst experiences of their lives—eight suicide attempts would certainly support that. This war is so pointless, so wasteful, and so unpopular that those who are supposed to be fighting it would rather leap into the waters of the Persian Gulf than stay on the Lincoln for another day.“That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.Donald Trump has claimed that it’s completely unbelievable that he would put his name on a theater commemorating an assassinated president. But he wasn’t talking about the Kennedy Center.MS NOW reported Wednesday that top Trump officials were already mulling over the next American landmark to be consumed by Trump’s eponymous brand. One potential option, according to an administration official who spoke with the network, was Ford’s Theatre—where President Abraham Lincoln was killed in 1865. The suggestion reportedly sparked a tense discussion last week among people overseeing the storied playhouse.The president wrote about the matter hours later on Truth Social, chalking the story up to “FAKE NEWS!”“The story that the White House, or me, want to affix my name to Ford’s Theatre, in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, is a ridiculous lie,” Trump wrote on social media Wednesday evening. But his aversion to the idea was apparently not due to any sort of historical reverence.“Who would possibly want a name on such a tragic place?” Trump wrote.“The Dumocrats suffer from serious Trump Derangement Syndrome,” he continued. “They are Degenerates and Losers who make up lie after lie, and this Ford’s Theatre Hoax is just another one of their never-ending, malicious falsehoods to try to discredit and demean.”The president reiterated his comments Thursday morning, further claiming that the national media and the Democratic Party “conspire together to make up false stories” about him. “Shouldn’t be allowed to happen,” Trump wrote.But Trump’s projected outrage stands in stark contrast to his machinations at the Kennedy Center, where he has worked tirelessly to plaster his name on the living memorial. Part of that effort included replacing the center’s board with a spate of Trumpian loyalists (and appointing himself as its chairman), and leveraging that power to find avenues to affix his name and brand on the performing arts space or its grounds. He has been profoundly unsuccessful in doing so, however—Trump has faced numerous legal obstacles in his quest to rename the Kennedy Center, in no small part because the site itself is under the jurisdiction of Congress.Ford’s Theatre, however, is not.Read more about what angered Trump:President Donald Trump posted an apparently AI-generated image of himself with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday where everyone else appears to have been removed—except for a certain blonde aide.In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared an image of him stoically saluting, standing beside a freshly arrived Xi on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews. A military jet flies overhead.ScreenshotBut when compared to actual video footage of the event, there are some strange differences. In one video, Trump and Xi appeared to be accompanied by first lady Melania Trump and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan. In the photo, however, the men appear to be standing alone, with the women either completely obscured or removed entirely. Despite the omission of the two first ladies, the image Trump posted included another woman: Monica Crowley, the U.S. chief of protocol, who shard multiple images of herself at the event. There was widespread speculation that Crowley was actually Trump’s ever-present assistant Natalie Harp lurking in the background with her hand over her heart. It’s not clear whether Harp was in attendance at Xi’s arrival. There are other notable details about the heavily edited image. In reality, Trump did not remain steely throughout the military flyover, but winced in pain at the loud noise from the B-1 heavy bomber overhead.Trump also wore a winter coat and black gloves to receive Xi, despite the rather temperate weather in Washington, D.C. In the image, however, Trump appears to be wearing only one glove. Behind him, the military display appears to have been morphed into a row of strange, alien-like figures. This story has been updated.