President Trump was born to win. It’s his brand and his personal reason for existing — a self-appointed destiny that has profoundly shaped America over the last decade in ways almost no one expected.
For that reason, people notice when Trump veers away from the policies for which he is best known. That happened recently when he spoke to reporters at the White House, where he told them he was worried that farmers and companies in the hospitality industry (think Hilton and Marriott) might soon be forced to hire American workers instead of black market labor.
“We’re going to have an order on that pretty soon, I think,” Trump said. “We can’t do that to our farmers, and leisure too. Hotels. We’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.” He followed up with a message on Truth Social, writing, in part, “Changes are coming!”
Conservative reactions ran the gamut from bewildered to angry. “Employers who knowingly rely on illegal immigrant labor should be in prison,” Matt Walsh wrote on X. “Instead we’re going to back off of immigration enforcement for their sake? Hell no. We can’t tolerate this.”
Politicians who lean left on immigration were quick to claim it as a victory. “MAJOR WIN: Trump just reversed course on immigration,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) opined, telling his followers it “happened because you spoke up.”
On the other side of the political aisle, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) invoked the statement in the middle of a combative exchange over immigration, writing on X, “Notice the wording. He doesn’t support deporting illegal immigrants.” Massie was throwing this back in the face of Trump supporters, who had made the same accusation against him days earlier.
Uproar aside, it bears noting that Trump has made similar comments before.
“A farmer will come in with a letter concerning certain people, saying they’re great, they’re working hard,” he said in April. “We’re going to slow it down a little bit for them, and then we’re going to ultimately bring them back. They’ll go out. They’re going to come back as legal workers.”
Customs and Border Protection had made good on one version of that plan a month earlier when it unveiled the CBP Home app, which keeps the door open for illegal immigrants inside the U.S. to return lawfully in the future if they self-deport now. Trump has not made clear what additional exemptions he might have in mind.
However, Trump’s earlier comments failed to attract much attention from the press or public — and his latest comments seem inopportune. To most Americans, they sound an awful lot like he’s considering a full-throated surrender. Democrats would be committing political malpractice if they didn’t seize the moment to claim victory.
In light of poll numbers released earlier this month, it is puzzling why Trump considered moving to the left on immigration at all. A CBS News poll released on June 9 found that 54 percent of U.S. adults approved of the administration’s deportation efforts compared to 46 percent who disapproved. An InsiderAdvantage survey of likely voters released June 10 found voters approved of his move to quash rioters in Los Angeles — with 59 percent expressing approval compared to 39 percent who disapproved.
Not all polls agree on these numbers, but it is safe to say that they numbers have contributed to Democrats’ downward spiraling fortunes. A Quinnipiac University survey released on June 11 found just 21 percent of registered voters approved of the performance of Democrats in Congress — next to a full 70 percent who disapproved. And that survey was conducted before federal agents tackled Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) — unceremoniously dragging him away from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Recent evidence indicates that Trump’s instincts on immigration have been one of the chief reasons for the monumental divide in public approval between him and the Democratic Party, whose rating is so low that it’s hard to wrap one’s mind around.
Considering the numbers, there may not be a politically auspicious time in 2025 for Trump to move left on immigration. If he’s eager to spend his precious political capital on a push to make it easier for certain companies or industries to hire illegal laborers, this political moment might be as good as any.
On the other hand, if he wants to find out just how high his approval rating can rise, he may want to reassure his supporters that he was merely playing a light-hearted joke on his critics by suggesting he’d move to the left — and he should double down on the policies that brought him to this point.
Rudy Takala has served as an editor or writer for Fox News and the Washington Examiner.
