Podcast Summary

The Rachel Maddow Show — "Trump in retreat as disastrous anti-immigrant campaign becomes political catastrophe"

Date: January 27, 2026
Host: Rachel Maddow
Guests: Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Attorney Eric Lee

Overview

This episode examines the collapse of President Donald Trump’s aggressive anti-immigrant campaign, particularly "Operation Metro Surge" in Minneapolis, following mass protests and public backlash after Border Patrol agents killed Alex Preddy, a Minneapolis ICU nurse. Rachel Maddow analyzes the political, social, and moral fallout for the Trump administration, discusses widespread grassroots resistance nationwide, and features firsthand accounts from leaders and advocates including Senator Amy Klobuchar and immigration attorney Eric Lee.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Trump Administration in Retreat

• Breaking News: Border Patrol official Greg Bevino (commander of “Operation Metro Surge”) is being pulled out of Minneapolis along with other federal agents ([00:34]).
• Reporting: Both MS NOW (via Carol Lennig, Mark Santiago) and The Atlantic (Nick Miroff) report Bevino’s demotion, indicating a major retreat by Trump after widespread condemnation and failure to quell protests ([02:23]).
  • Miroff’s report: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and advisor Corey Lewandowski, Bevino’s chief backers, may also lose their jobs.
  • DHS pushes back publicly but ambiguously: “Bevino has not been relieved of his duties,” which Maddow parses as consistent with retreat ([03:09]).
• Assessment: Maddow frames the operation as a self-imposed, large-scale “paramilitary attack” intended to showcase Trump’s stance on immigration—but now viewed as both moral and practical failure:

  “It is being viewed both as a practical debacle and a moral debacle. And they are paying a considerable political price for it.” ([04:12])

2. The Power and Reach of Protest

• Local Protests: Protests include massive walkouts and business shutdowns, clergy civil disobedience, and widespread peaceful resistance, even in severe subzero weather ([06:01]–[09:22]):

  • On Friday, nearly the whole city of Minneapolis shut down.
  • Vigils for Alex Preddy included diverse communities—retirement homes, student walkouts, union members, clergy, and more.
  • Maddow:

    “At every protest I've ever been to...somebody at some point starts up the chant, 'This is what democracy looks like.'” ([10:57])

  • Senator Amy Klobuchar: “Right?” ([11:03])

• Nationwide Solidarity: Demonstrations emerged instantly in cities near and far: Davenport IA, Grand Rapids MI, Orlando FL, Green Bay WI, Phoenix AZ, Salt Lake City UT, NYC, Seattle, Tampa, Colorado Springs, Boise, Chicago, Omaha, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Charleston SC, Traverse City MI, and more ([08:08]–[10:25]).

• Protest as Bedrock of Democracy:

  “Peaceful protest is a core part of democratic action. Small d democratic action. And the unromantic, strong, simple truth...every small d democratic muscle that we have is flexing. And it turns out that that's way stronger than Donald Trump.”
  —Rachel Maddow ([11:06])

3. Political Fallout: Both Parties Respond

• Republican Pushback: For the first time, Republicans in the Minnesota legislature call for de-escalation and evaluate the operation as causing “more harm than good.”

  • MN GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Maddo drops out, decrying party’s support for federal retribution ([16:08]):

  “I have to look my daughters in the eye and tell them I believe I did what was right and I'm doing that today.”

• Congressional Shifts:

  • Republicans in Congress and governors across the country denounce the violence, demand investigations, and call the ICE operation a disaster ([17:44]).
  • Democrats, even centrists who previously supported ICE, now refuse to fund DHS and ICE, or apologize for past support ([18:52]):

  “I failed to view the Homeland Security funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis. ...I take responsibility for that.” —Rep. Tom Suozzi, NY ([19:41])

  • A House resolution to impeach Kristi Noem (Homeland Security Secretary) gains over 140 co-sponsors ([18:26]).

• Corporate and Former Presidents: CEOs of major Minnesota businesses call for “immediate de-escalation.” Former Presidents Obama and Clinton issue strong statements condemning Trump’s actions and praising protestors ([20:42], [21:11]).

4. Grassroots Resistance to ICE Facilities Nationwide

• Widespread Local Opposition: Community protests and ordinances in states from Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Colorado, Georgia, Utah, Missouri, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Virginia successfully resist or prevent new ICE prison camps ([36:48]–[40:50]).
  • Even Republican-majority communities and officials oppose new “Trump prison camps.”
• Maddow’s Call for Media Attention:

  “We could use some more reportorial help with it. But let me tell you what we know… the list of communities pushing back keeps growing.” ([37:49])

5. Inside the Texas ICE Facility Uprising

• Eric Lee’s Account:
  • As an immigration attorney, Lee describes being rushed out of the Dilley, Texas family residential center as hundreds of detained immigrants—men, women, children—stage a peaceful protest demanding the release of the children ([42:20]).
  • The protest was inspired by news of the Minneapolis general strike.
  • Lee shares a poignant drawing by a five-year-old detainee: “Let us go, let us go...sad detained children behind bars.”
  • Lee highlights dire conditions: putrid water, food with bugs, denied medical care, and the bipartisan origins of these detention facilities, underscoring the long-term systemic nature of immigrant detention ([45:57]):

    “This facility was founded by Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in 2014. This is being expanded by Trump. Certainly the conditions are worsening...but this is a bipartisan policy, the product of 30 years, 25 years of mass detention by Democratic and Republican administrations alike.” —Eric Lee ([46:34])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Political Shift:

  “What we inherited from the founding fathers of this country is a democracy that was explicitly and purposefully designed to be decentralized and divided and responsive to the people. And when the people push in a concerted way, what we are seeing is that the country is working the way it's supposed to.” —Rachel Maddow ([21:51])

• On the Efficacy of Protests:

  “Principled, peaceful, relentless protest works. It uses democratic means to save democracy. That is what made all...this political shifting happen. That is what has forced the Trump administration to change course.” —Rachel Maddow ([22:53])

• Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Emotional Testimony:

  “Talking to his [Alex Preddy’s] parents last night when they told me how offended they were...crying the entire time about the lies about him when he had devoted his life to taking care of our veterans. And they go out, administration officials, calling him a domestic terrorist, calling Renee Goode a domestic terrorist. …Taking Hmong elders out of their homes, dragging them out in their underwear, and then figuring out they had the wrong guy because he was already in jail, taking two year olds, sending them to Texas…” —Sen. Klobuchar ([31:25])

• On the Point of Change:

  “The fact that there is now some de-escalation and that they are willing now to talk to our leaders and our police officers and let them do their real jobs and get ICE out of our state is truly a moment.” —Sen. Klobuchar ([32:30])

• Eric Lee on Detention Conditions:

  “Mothers have to mix baby formula with water that stinks. There's bugs in the food. My client...was vomiting from pain in the hallway as he suffered from appendicitis. The officials there told him, 'Take a Tylenol and come back in three days.'” —Eric Lee ([45:57])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic Description | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:34 | Maddow begins analysis of administration retreat, sets context | | 03:09 | Reporting confirms demotion/removal of Greg Bevino | | 06:01 | Mass protests and civil disobedience in Minneapolis | | 10:57 | “This is what democracy looks like” and reflection on protest | | 14:49 | Small-d democratic push wins over violence | | 16:08 | Republican pushback, Chris Maddo’s resignation | | 18:26 | Democratic push to impeach Kristi Noem, funding showdown | | 20:42 | Corporate and former White House leaders join in condemnation | | 21:51 | Maddow: “Country working as supposed to” via protest | | 29:03 | Senator Amy Klobuchar interviewed; details personal calls, outrage | | 33:44 | Senate’s upcoming DHS funding decision, Klobuchar on ICE funding | | 36:48 | Local, national resistance to new ICE facilities | | 42:20 | Eric Lee’s live account from Dilley, TX detention uprising | | 45:57 | Describing terrible conditions inside; bipartisan nature of detention | | 47:22 | Maddow wraps with breaking news: Bevino out, federal retreat underway |

Tone & Language

True to Rachel Maddow and the show’s style, the episode features a passionate, analytical, and urgent tone. Maddow uses clear, evocative language, combining news reporting, emotional testimonials, and political analysis in a narrative that underscores popular democratic resistance. Guests speak with candor and deep emotion, emphasizing the human impact and moral stakes.

Conclusion

This pivotal episode details the unraveling of Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign amid massive, spontaneous, and organized protest. Political, economic, and public opinion is converging against the administration’s tactics, leading to tangible shifts: withdrawal of federal agents from Minneapolis, waning GOP support for ICE operations, and intensifying resistance to detention facilities nationwide. The episode’s message is clear: mass, principled, peaceful action is forcing democratic accountability and change even in the face of entrenched power.

End of Summary