Sarah Longwell: Cops Are Worried ICE Turned People Against Police

Summary

---

Episode Overview

Main Theme:
This episode of Bulwark Takes features Sarah Longwell discussing the profound backlash against recent actions by ICE and law enforcement, especially following high-profile police shootings in Minneapolis. Drawing from recent focus groups—including those with law enforcement—Longwell explores how these events are shifting public opinion, even among Trump voters, and causing law enforcement professionals to worry about lasting damage to their standing with the public.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Widespread Public Awareness and Anger

• Sarah Longwell shares the scope of awareness:

  • “Everybody knows what is happening… Not only has everybody heard about these shootings but everybody's seen the videos, they've examined them for themselves.” (02:03)
  • The shootings of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy have cut through the noise of current events. The Alex Preddy case is especially clear-cut and impactful on public sentiment.

• Shift in reactions:

  • The public is increasingly “fed up with these sort of overzealousness of these ICE agents, the fact that they're paroling the streets in masks...” (03:10)
  • Many voters, including some Trump voters, feel Trump is not addressing real concerns but instead creating further chaos.

2. The Public’s Changing Tolerance for Enforcement Tactics

• Child Separation and Use of Children as Bait

  • The practice of using children, such as Liam Ramos, to lure family members has especially angered the public.
  • “This idea of using kids as bait, of going into schools, of going into churches, these are the kinds of things that Americans reject.” (04:58)

• Desire for humane solutions:

  • Voters want “a policy solution… but they do want people to be treated humanely.” Even Trump/Biden swing voters express this, showing the issue cuts across party lines.

3. Law Enforcement Voices on Public Trust and ICE’s Impact

• Focus Group Insights:

  • Law enforcement officers themselves express demoralization and concern about loss of community trust.
  • “I don't know anybody who saw the video. The most recent one in Minneapolis, I said single handedly set police back easily 100 to 50 to 100 years.” — Law Enforcement Officer (06:46)

• Distinction between ICE and Local Police

  • Officers stress that actions by federal agencies like ICE are harming the relationship between the police and the public, making the job of local law enforcement harder:
    • “ICE are not the same… But they feel like what it is going to do is break the trust between the American people and law enforcement writ large, and that that's something you can't just get back in a day.” (07:51)

4. Backlash Against Administration and GOP Figures

• Rejection of Trump’s Framing:

  • The public is reacting strongly against the official narrative as pushed by Trump, Kristi Noem, and Stephen Miller.
  • The fact that videos directly contradict official statements is leading to a “crisis of trust.”
    • “That smearing of him [Preddy] is something that voters took note of. They're like, that's not what the video shows. I'm watching it with my own eyes, and I think that… we can't trust their statement of events because we can see that they're lying to us.” (09:04)

• Even within Trump’s coalition:

  • Some voters who previously supported Trump or swapped from Biden to Trump are now calling for accountability from figures like Kristi Noem, indicating a real fracture.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Not only has everybody heard about these shootings but everybody's seen the videos, they've examined them for themselves.”
  — Sarah Longwell, 02:08

• “They hired Trump to secure the border… but they did not want this, people in our streets… shooting Americans.”
  — Sarah Longwell, 03:23

• “This idea of using kids as bait, of going into schools, of going into churches, these are the kinds of things that Americans reject.”
  — Sarah Longwell, 04:58

• “I don't know anybody who saw the video… said single handedly set police back easily 50 to 100 years. Easily… what one badge does, everybody gets blamed for it.”
  — Law Enforcement Officer, 06:32

• “What it is going to do is break the trust between the American people and law enforcement writ large, and that's something you can't just get back in a day.”
  — Sarah Longwell, 07:51

• “That smearing of him is something that voters took note of… that's not what the video shows… we can't trust their statement of events because we can see that they're lying to us.”
  — Sarah Longwell, 09:04

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:03] – Longwell on public awareness of shootings, especially Alex Preddy’s case
• [04:58] – Discussion on the use of children as bait and public rejection of such tactics
• [06:14] – Focus group: Law enforcement’s reaction and fear of losing public trust
• [07:51] – Law enforcement’s view on long-term impact on trust
• [09:04] – Public’s loss of trust in Trump administration official statements

---

Summary Flow & Takeaways

• The episode features an urgent, unfiltered look at a critical moment in U.S. law enforcement and immigration policy response.
• Sarah Longwell’s focus group findings reveal that outrage is cutting across party lines, spurred by the graphic and undeniable nature of recent videos.
• The actions of ICE agents and the federal government are not only alienating regular voters, but also demoralizing rank-and-file law enforcement, who see their public standing endangered.
• Key GOP talking points are being directly undermined by video evidence, fueling a trust crisis with real political consequences.
• The podcast maintains The Bulwark’s signature tone: factual, conversational, and deeply attentive to evolving public sentiment.

---

Transcript

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

Five years ago, I was paying $65 a month for my subscriptions. Today, those Same subscriptions cost $111, and I don't even use half of them anymore. That's why now I use Rocket Money to manage my subscriptions for me. The app gives you a list of all your subscriptions and reminds you of upcoming payments so you're not hit with any surprise charges. On top of that, it also sends you alerts when subscription prices go up, so you always know the price you're paying. If you decide you no longer want a subscription, you can cancel it right from the app. No customer service needed. And the best part is, Rocket Money even reaches out and tries to get you refunded for some of the money you lost. On average, people that cancel their subscriptions with rocket money save $378 a year. And overall, Rocket Money has saved its members $880 million in canceled subscriptions. Stop wasting money on things you don't use. Go to rocketmoney.com cancel to get started. That's rocketmoney.com cancel. Rocket money.com cancel.

[Political Analyst]

Hey, guys, I was on with Nicole Wallace earlier today. Also Alex Wagner and Andrew Weissman. They were on with me. And we were all talking about Minneapolis, but I specifically was talking about a lot of what we've been hearing in the focus groups since the Alex Preddy shooting, including from a brand new group of police officers, law enforcement types that we just did and so lot in there. Obviously, I have talked a lot about Minneapolis. I really was focused in this one on the shift in public opinion and how frustrated Americans are after seeing, you know, their fellow citizens get shot in the street. And it is having an impact on public opinion. And really, for the first time, we're seeing the Trump administration blink in the face of public backlash and outcry. So that's what we're talking about. Hope you enjoy it. Go watch.

[Interviewer]

Sarah Longwell, let me start with you. What do you say see happening in the country in terms of the public mood?

[Political Analyst]

Well, you know, I listen to voters week in and week out in focus groups, and I cannot overstate how big of a shift there has been on just Minneapolis. And one of the things I want to start out with is just the fact that everybody knows what is happening. You know, I talk a lot about what it takes to break through in this noisy information environment. You know, voters, often we will be talking about something on this show or in Washington and voters won't have heard about it. Not only has everybody heard about these shootings but everybody's seen the videos, they've examined them for themselves. And people were already deeply uneasy after the shooting of Renee Goode. But to have a second shooting with Alex Preddy where I gotta say for voters, the Predi shooting is just much more clear cut. They looked at the Renee Goode one and people were able to tell themselves, well, she was in the car and how was the car turning? The mask agents, six of them, jumping on Alex Preddy, shooting him in the back, him clearly having his hands up, just trying to defend a woman that an ICE agent had shoved into the snow has created a really different environment where people are now saying they are, they are fed up with these sort of over zealousness of these ICE agents, the fact that they're paroling the streets in masks, the backlash. And look, obviously hardcore Trump voters, many of them will stick with him on this, but the vast majority of the country is just reaching kind of a tipping point on not only do they think this is wrong, what is happening, right. They hired Trump to secure the border, they hired Trump to deport dangerous criminals from the country, but they did not want this people in our streets. The other thing is Donald Trump is not doing the thing that voters hired him to do the most. Right. If people, if the economy was booming and people's prices were going down, they might, sometimes voters can forgive Trump for a lot of the things he does in that context. But at a time when Trump is not addressing their concerns and he's creating chaos in the streets and they're shooting Americans, that's when you start to see public opinion really start to move.

[Interviewer]

Sarah Longwell the child separation practice has been, thanks to people like Jacob Sobroff and other great journalism and activists has been part of the Trump story. But, but to your point, people are now focusing in on the plight of young, young children like Liam Ramos, who was used, not just detained in Minneapolis, but used as bait to lure out other family members at a time when, to your point, everyone has seen the images of how Alex Pruddy was killed. I wonder if the whole project of going after the worst of the worst has now been blown apart as a lie.

[Political Analyst]

Yeah, I mean, look, there's, there's a few lies actually that American voters understand. And again, I just can't overstate how interesting it is to me to hear Trump voters and many of the people we've been talking to have been Trump voters talking about Ramos, talking about, I mean, they, they, they know these stories and many of them are calling for Kristi noem to be impeached or gotten rid of, which I was actually pretty surprised to hear Trump voters saying. Now these are swingier voters, people who went from Biden to Trump. But they say this idea of using kids as bait, of going into schools, of going into churches, these are the kinds of things that Americans reject. They say, yes, get dangerous criminals, but somebody who's been here for 20 years, like don't come into our streets and start dragging our neighbors out. Like they want a policy solution to it. But they, they do want people to be treated humanely. Like the American people have not lost every sense of what is decent and what is right. And they think that using kids as bait is wrong. Separating kids from their families is wrong. That was true in the Trump first administration and it's true now.

[Interviewer]

Sir, I think we have some footage from your focus groups. Let me play that for our viewers.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Whenever there's a highly publicized police shooting and it's getting publicized because there's questions over whether it was a good shoot, I think in law enforcement there's usually a. Well, you have to put yourself in that moment. You have to understand they're making a quick decision. You have to understand law enforcement is usually quick to, I don't want to say defend, but kind of explain or justify why it was a good shooter, a bad shooter. And over the last few weeks, months, year, it's getting harder and harder for people around me to have like a good faith conversation about why something was a good shoot. I don't know anybody who saw the video. The most recent one in Minneapolis, I said single handedly set police back easily 100 to 50 to 100 years. Easily. I'm glad that I medical doubt because I would kind of hate to be a cop right now because you're dealing with. Because what one badge does, everybody gets blamed for it.

[Interviewer]

Sir, explain who these voters are.

[Political Analyst]

Yeah. So we just did this group last night and these are law enforcement officers. Some of them are correctional officers, many of them are beat cops, some of them are federal law enforcement. But they're all people who have operated in law enforcement communities and they were all, they did all vote for, for Kamala Harris. We are doing two groups. We're going to do another one tonight of people who, let's say are more Trump friendly and we'll see how different those are. But in this particular group, it wasn't just that they were all talking about how this made law enforcement look bad, how it broke trust with the people that they're supposed to be protecting. Could also just feel like they were sad, they were devastated by what was happening. Like, there are cops who feel like their d is to protect people. And I think watching, especially for law enforcement, and I think you're gonna hear more of this, watching people who are not trained, who treat people horribly, who shoot quickly and thoughtlessly and taking American lives and creating chaos in the streets. They view that as something that is going to. Because ICE are not the same. Right. As the police officers that we deal with every day. Or Border patrol is not the same. But they feel like what it is going to do is break the TR between the American people and law enforcement writ large, and that that's something that you can't just get back in a day.

[Interviewer]

Sarah, does that seem to be breaking through with voters, that it's all in Donald Trump's political mission and service and that there is no part of the federal government looking out for the American people?

[Political Analyst]

Not sure that that specifically breaks through. I mean, Americans, man, when it comes to the institutions, the big institutions, they are often not following the minutiae of it. I will tell you what has broken through, and this has been pretty striking to me. The fact that Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller all came out and lied about both the shooting of Renee Good and the shooting of Alex Preddy, but especially the shooting of Alex Preddy. That has broken through what the American people are. The fact that there was a video that directly contradicted the idea that he was a domestic terrorist or that he had come there to do maximum. Those types of. That smearing of him is something that voters took note of. They're like, that's not what the video shows. I'm watching it with my own eyes, and I think that that is starting to break through. I don't want to say it's creating a legitimacy crisis. I'm not sure how much legitimacy they actually had with voters, but it is causing people to say, well, we can't trust their. Their statement of events because we can see that they're lying to us.