Obama, Clinton Statements About Minneapolis Reveal Democrats’ Midterm Playbook
But where Obama truly goes off the rails is in his appeal to Trump administration officials to “… start finding ways to work constructively with Governor Walz and Mayor Frey.”
Similar weekend statements from former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton effectively threw a lighted match onto the tinderbox that Minneapolis has become. Rather than acting as calming, steadying voices, their remarks only heightened tensions in an already inflamed situation. Both leaders characterized the continued deployment of ICE agents in the city as contrary to core American values.
In doing so, they chose escalation over restraint.
But their statements did something else. They revealed the cornerstone of the Democrats’ campaign strategy for regaining control of Congress in the 2026 midterms. The party is positioning opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement approach as a central issue this election season. They will hammer Republican candidates over immigration enforcement and present ICE agents as ruthless, amoral jackbooted thugs who are carrying out illegal orders issued by an illegitimate leader.
The propaganda war is on. And this was the opening salvo.
Obama’s statement — issued jointly with his wife — was sharply critical of ICE’s operation in Minneapolis, particularly over the fatal shootings of agitators Alex Pretti on Saturday and Renée Good earlier this month.
But where Obama truly goes off the rails is in his appeal to Trump administration officials to “reconsider their approach, and start finding ways to work constructively with Governor [Tim] Walz and Mayor [Jacob] Frey as well as state and local police to avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.”
Federal officials have repeatedly sought cooperation with state and local authorities in Minnesota, only to be rebuffed, and federal law — under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause — takes precedence over conflicting state or local policies.
With the exception of a handful of “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, most state and local officials across the country have worked with the Trump administration by providing ICE agents access to their jails, allowing removable illegal aliens to be taken into ICE custody directly from detention facilities.
[Note: This reflects how the 287(g) program and detainer cooperation typically function: when local jails agree to honor ICE detainer requests or host ICE interviews, the agency can assume custody of individuals in a controlled setting rather than at-large in the community.]
Because Minnesota officials have refused federal agents direct access to local jails, ICE and Border Patrol personnel have been forced to locate and detain individuals in public, often on city streets. This raises the risk to agents and increases the likelihood of unintended, dangerous encounters in an already volatile setting.
When officials like Walz and Frey not only refuse to cooperate with ICE but actively encourage public resistance through incendiary rhetoric, such as likening ICE to the Gestapo, the city becomes a powder keg.
Emboldened by the tacit support of Walz and Frey, some agitators clearly feel justified in ramming a “Gestapo officer” with their car or charging a group of ICE agents (involved in an operation) with a loaded pistol — and two full magazines.
Obama is gaslighting and he knows it. He also knows it doesn’t matter, because many Americans will believe him anyway.
The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault. pic.twitter.com/0JmEsJ1QFW
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 25, 2026
For his part, Clinton wrote, “Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them.”
He’s trying to persuade readers to view the deaths of Good and Pretti as seminal moments in American history — in fact, just as momentous as the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
Clinton incorporated the same talking points Obama had stated earlier into his own missive.
People, including children, have been seized from their homes, workplaces, and the street by masked federal agents. Peaceful protesters and citizens exercising their constitutional right to observe and document law enforcement have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed.
All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided. To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics, including impeding investigations by local authorities.
Yes, after the Russian collusion conspiracy his wife Hillary perpetrated upon candidate Donald Trump in 2016 and all of the hoaxes that followed, Clinton had the audacity to say the Trump administration is lying to us.
His statement ended with a rallying cry: “It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak and show that our nation still belongs to We the People.”
Clinton’s conclusion tells us that, although opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration policy will be the key pillar of the Democrats’ midterm playbook, warning Americans about the threat Republicans pose to “American democracy” never grows old.
And finally, just in case anyone needs a reminder, here are a couple of scenes from Clinton’s own presidency.
All but 9 of the residents of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas were unavailable for comment on Mr Clinton’s statement https://t.co/VNbixx1yRT pic.twitter.com/ne3OgkRUXq
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) January 26, 2026
Can you believe Trump did this to a 5-year-old?
Oh wait, that was Elian Gonzalez, and it was Bill Clinton who did it. pic.twitter.com/cvk4f3yL3Z
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) January 23, 2026
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
Old Bathhouse Barack is such a bore. He really needs to get some new material.
Trump should keep up the pressure.
He’s off to a Pretti Good start.
Anyone else find those last names, Good and Pretti, ironic?
Obama once again exposes himself as the turd on the soles of America’s shoes.
The next time Trump gives a speech on this issue he should say:
“I asked myself what would Barack Obama do. Since Barack deported over 5.3 million illegal aliens during his 8 years in office I decided to follow suit and deport as many as I could.”
The despicable, evil and vile narcissist, Obama, is such a wretched piece of excrement. Always posturing and lecturing Americans and posing as the alleged “voice of reason,” while otherwise acting as the Arsonist/Demagogue-in-Chief, bringing gasoline and matches to American civics and politics.
I would like to think that Trump being President and dismantling EVERYTHING Barry worked to create is a kick in the nuts the the nutless ballsack 🤣🤣
Watch video footage of Obama strutting — that perfectly describes how this narcissistic and vain poser “walked” — into the U.S. Capitol rotunda, sans the ugly Mooch, for #47’s second inauguration swearing-in ceremony. Simply delicious, to watch this lawless, conniving, subversive POS, who, with crone Clinton, used every dirty tricks sabotage in the Dhimmi-crats’ Little Red Book, to sabotage #45’s first term, have to bear witness to #47’s historic and decisive re-election.
47 with more votes than Barry to boot! 🤣
I still sometimes watch the video of Obama mean-spiritedly roasting Trump in 2011 to see where it all began. Obama could have made a light-hearted joke or two and moved on but instead he chose to get nasty on a personal vendetta. Trump is sitting there with a pained smile because he’s being forced to take it but you can see the moment he decided that he was going to ruin Obama’s whole legacy.
Honoré de Ball Sack?
What a bunch of asses. All of them. Reprehensible. Every time I think I can’t hate them enough they through gasoline on my fire.
When it becomes apparent to the powers behind the curtain at the DNC that the ‘Ice Out’ ploy is not working, look for the phrase ‘Trump Depression’ which will be the slogan from every Dem candidate from now to November, no matter how well the ecconomy is actually performing.
The ICE Out ploy could grow and spread out to smaller venues. That would be a problem. Right now the Leftists feel they have the winning message, but do they really?
The Democrat media will work overtime to make that happen for their paymasters.
The Dems can only conduct such operations in jurisdictions where governors and mayors allow them to control the streets. In other (Red) jurisdictions, State and/or local LE will be deployed to conduct crowd control, keeping ICE and protestors separated and denying them the violent confrontations with ICE that they need to maintain the narrative. Clashing directly with local LE won’t have the political impact that clashing directly with ICE has. An impact that was planned, which is why Walz and Frey never deployed their LE assets as they should have.
The “Big Lie” technique, famously utilized by dictators like Hitler and Stalin, relies on repeating absurd falsehoods to reshape reality for the public.
How do you work “constructively” with fraudsters, criminals, and anarchists?
You don’t.
Make them build the gallows.
Anyone else think he looks like he’s wearing a pastel blue plush on top of his head? Like an atheist yarmulke?
It’s a gay thing. If an honest movie is ever made about his life, the producers will have to pay ITV to use the title African Queen.
It’s actually a subliminal psyop, like all his halo photos.
Color wheel: what’s the opposite of orange?
Toss MN from the Union and remind them they are surrounded, as necks can be strangled. Not in the hanging sense but rather in a territorial way.
If the GOP can eff up this mid term, well then that’s the GOP I’ve come to know.
They did it to Trump first time round. Only question is whether there are enough traitors still around to do it a second time? 🤔
Way more than enough.
They are experts at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Clinton
The law abiding contempt of congress lying , sexual pervert , BFF with Epstein.. himself
If only media would replay his speech on illegal immigration, often, and that if Barbara Jordan….
Can that Red Diaper Baby not find something to do at one of his mansions?
He said he wasn’t leaving, even with 3 terms under him.
The Red Diaper Baby is here to stay.
Work with local Minneapolis and MN leadership? Bruh….Y’all ain’t selling that BS to anyone who wasn’t already a subscriber to your Orwellian narrative. At best you’ll peel off a few weak minded folks who allow their emotions to be weaponized against their own interests and those of the Nation with sob stories. Every flipping illegal alien still in the USA has had not just an opportunity to depart but refused the generous incentives to do so. If there’s less than gentle tactics used to find and apprehend it’s on them for not leaving on their own. Frankly many ordinary Citizens are getting close to demanding a ‘now youse can’t leave’ sort of ending to this cosplay y’all set in motion…round them up and drop them off in Alaska, the last frontier, to go homestead or die trying.
TBH the first thing that crossed my mind was these insurrection minded, neo nullification goons using enforcement of Federal immigration law to stoke and potentially direct violent mobs to change the headlines from their gross malfeasance in the face of various scams/frauds of billions of taxpayer dollars could voluntarily dig their own graves and walk to the gallows.
Never forget that the scenes of violence are only happening in Democrat shit holes. They are not happening every where else that adults are in charge and States are cooperating with Ice and CPB.
Nor in blue jurisdictions sympathetic to illegal aliens but where LEO and their political masters simply refuse to allow mob rule and enforce basic laws to deter any effective ‘resistance’.
Yes, Democrat shit holes.
There’s a distinction you are ignoring. A city like Austin, TX is deep blue and defiantly so. Same for New Orleans….yet the city leaders still keep a lid on the mob. In contrast cities like Portland and Minneapolis have not.
Barack Obama: “many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault”
So according to former Pres. Obama, our core national values involve doing everything in our power, legal and illegal, to allow violent criminals, rapists, murderers, and child abusers to continue to roam our streets, but try to throw Pres. Trump IN prison because he says mean things and we don’t like his policies. Aalll righty, then!
[backs slowly away, keeping an eye on the crazy person]
Quite frankly what is happening to these DFL people in Minnesota is more scary than a zombie apocalypse movie. At least the zombies are a mindless menace.
Note to self: recommend to Daily Wire or Babylon Bee they produce a short video in which all the zombies blow whistles and yell “what the F.”
again
lefty won the street battles from occupy wall street ,,,the tea party,, floyd riots and current street thuggery
now is the time to actually take criminal and civil action to bk them
omar must be wiring funds to her other husbands in somali as we speak to hide the money
The Deporter-in-Chief got almost no opposition while deporting millions. No #Resistance whatsoever. But let Trump try it and the known universe goes up in flames.
That is the world we live in today, things that people agreed were bad yesterday are suddenly good today simply because Trump is working to remove that bad thing.
People – We hate pedophiles.
Trump – Im going to kick illegal alien pedophiles out of the country.
The Left – WE LOVE PEDOPHILES!!!
Barry & Bubba are disgusting, but Dems basing their election strategy on supporting illegal aliens seems like a dubious plan.
I dream of Bill, Barry and Hillary as cellmates at Gitmo, a Supermax, or CECOT. (Michelle could keep the home fires burning.)
Heard on the radio tonight that DJT had a call with Walz and Frey, and said they made “good progress.”
I’d trust those two as far as I trust Hamas to seek peace.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who can remember Elian Gonzalez. I was shocked at how that played out. You have to admire how the Democrats do this, they create the chaos and then they blame everyone else for it. Never forget, this is the same group spitting on the troops and protesting the Vietnam War, only with a different priority.