The REAL Story About How Trump is Navigating the Issue of Deporting MILLIONS of Illegal Migrants

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on the political struggles Trump faces regarding his handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the deportation of millions of illegal migrants. Recent polling indicates a significant decline in approval ratings for ICE and affiliated leadership, revealing a loss of support among independent voters and highlighting the challenges Trump encounters in maintaining a cohesive stance on immigration policy.

Key takeaways

• Trump's ICE approval rating is plummeting—guess 'tough on immigration' isn't a guaranteed win anymore.
• Christy Nome: the sacrificial lamb of a failed narrative. Politics loves a scapegoat!
• Independents are bailing on Trump faster than his tweets can be fact-checked. What's next, a slogan overhaul?
• When policy meets public sentiment, brace for turbulence—politics loves drama, especially when lives are at stake.
• The ‘uncomfortability caucus’ isn’t just a clever term; it’s the reason tough policies hit a wall.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Megyn Kelly (Guest) · 8 min speaking
• Harry Enon (Guest) · 4 min speaking
• Tom Homan (Guest) · 1 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Donald Trump, Chrissy Gnome, Ice King, DHS
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Donald Trump
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Elon Omar
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Chrissy Gnome, DHS, Tom Holman
5. 12:00 – 13:07: Birch Gold Group

Notable quotes from "The REAL Story About How Trump is Navigating the Issue of Deporting MILLIONS of Illegal Migrants"

• >> Yeah, I'm not really surprised that President Trump is sending Tom home and him because ICE DHS Christine Nome have been a political disaster because…

  about Chrissy Gnome · at 0:35

• Popularity. Every single one, the net approval rating has been negative. ICE is negative. DHS is negative. As I said at the top, Kate, this has been an absolute political…

  about DHS · at 1:36

• Because the uncomfortability caucus doesn't appreciate that. But it turns out when you want to deport 15 million people who got here illegally under Joe Biden…

  about Donald Trump · at 3:02

• The Biden DOJ. Because if you would marry your brother to get him into the United States, you would do anything, including possibly illegally line your own pockets.…

  about Elon Omar · at 6:36

• Purchases. To claim eligibility and start the process, just text MK to the number 989898. Birch Gold can help you roll an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA in gold, and you are…

  about Birch Gold Group · at 12:25

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Donald Trump — Person · Referenced political principal / decision-maker · 4 mentions · first at 0:01
  Central figure in the discussion of ICE/DHS operations, political fallout, and polling; speakers debate how his administration should respond to backlash and midterm implications.
• Chrissy Gnome — Person · Referenced cabinet official / operational face of DHS in segment · 4 mentions · first at 1:07
  Discussed as the public-facing leader associated with unpopular ICE/DHS actions and messaging; framed as potentially being sidelined as a 'sacrificial lamb' amid negative polling.
• Tom Holman — Person · Referenced enforcement strategist / operational counterweight · 2 mentions · first at 0:36
  Presented as a law-and-order operator focused on targeted enforcement (criminal removals) and contrasted with more political/media-driven approaches attributed to DHS leadership.
  >> Yeah, I'm not really surprised that President Trump is sending Tom home and him because ICE DHS Christine Nome have been a political disaster because…
• Elon Omar — Person · Referenced political antagonist / scandal focal point · 1 mention · first at 6:32
  Invoked as part of a claimed Minnesota/Somali-community fraud narrative and alleged investigation; used rhetorically to argue protests are a distraction from fraud.

Concepts & topics

• Ice King — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 0:30
  Central to the discussion about immigration enforcement and its political implications under the Trump administration.
  Well. I read the audience the poll numbers yesterday from a couple of different outlets and the independents have completely abandoned Trump on the issue of ICE. Of course the…
• DHS — Concept · Key argument · 3 mentions · first at 0:38
  Discussed in the context of its role in immigration enforcement and its political approval ratings.

Sponsors

• Birch Gold Group — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at 12:04
  Promoted as a financial service for diversifying savings into physical gold, with a special rebate offer.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 I want to go to the politics of it because of course that is why Trump and Walls spoke yesterday. Um it's why Trump just didn't declare the insurrection act and send in the military and take Minnesota in hand. Um it's not going well. I read the audience the poll numbers yesterday from a couple of different outlets and the independents have completely abandoned Trump on the issue of ICE. Of course the Democrats are not there at all. He's got Republican support but not not entirely. It's about 80% support him. Um, and here is Harry Enon talking a little bit more about the polling on ICE operations on CNN Monday ST 17.

0:35 >> Yeah, I'm not really surprised that President Trump is sending Tom home and him because ICE DHS Christine Nome have been a political disaster because just take a look here. I mean, ICE's net approval rating during Trump's terms. You go back to term number one. Look, it was it's pretty even at zero points. You go to June 2025, right? That was when all that uh stuff was going on in Los Angeles. They drop down. Look at this. Minus7 points way in the basement. But then after Minneapolis, it's even lower.

1:04 Minus 27 points on the net approval rating of ICE. Of course, this all being done under Christy Gnome. So, no. What's going on in Minneapolis is not popular at all. >> One more. Here he is talking about Christy Gnome Sad 18. >> I mean, just look at her net approval rating. In July of 2025, it was minus 11 points. It's actually gotten more unpopular now at minus 16 points. I looked at every single poll that has been conducted on Christine Gnome's popularity. Every single one, the net approval rating has been negative. ICE is negative. DHS is negative. As I said at the top, Kate, this has been an absolute political disaster for the president of the United States. It's not much of a surprise to me if he wants to push Gnome to the side.

1:52 H. So, what does that mean? Because everyone's thinking about the midterms. I mean, this is just depressing because what they're doing is working that that those loons are driving down the numbers with their media enablers. All Christy Gnome's trying to do is enforce the law. Yes, she got over her skis on the messaging after Alex Prey and she went too far. I mean, honestly, she did it, I'm sure, out of an effort to help the Border Patrol agents. She was almost certainly told by one or more of them that something like that happened. I doubt she just made it up out of thin air. I don't know. But okay, she's going to be the sacrificial lamb in some way.

2:31 She she got pulled. Bavino, he got pulled. Um pulled but not fired, which is good. Any in any event. Okay, great. So, where does this take us politically? Because I just don't know. I don't think Trump I don't think those people, those independents are like, "Okay, I will vote for Trump now or I will vote Republican in the midterms." >> Yeah. I mean, this is what we talked about, right? I mean, the easiest thing you can do as a president of the United States is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

2:57 If you feel like there is a necessity for profound change, don't do it at all because the uncomfortability caucus doesn't appreciate that. But it turns out when you want to deport 15 million people who got here illegally under Joe Biden, it's tough. It's difficult. And the left puts up a resistance that makes things incredibly uncomfortable. and you just need to be prepared for it. And like I don't give a what the cabinet secretar's approval rating is. Like nobody really that is what it is.

3:27 It does have downstream effects on Republican candidates undoubtedly. and you're seeing some of that play out with people asking questions and wanting some oversight and all of that being said, but the Republican party needs to just wrap its mind around if you say you're going to do something, it's not going to be easy and on the back end of it, everybody's not going to be like, "Oh, congratulations. You did it." There's a cottage industry that is entirely built foreign funding, everything else to try to destroy any progress that you make.

3:58 And that's just what you know when you get into politics. Like that is just the reality that you've dealt with >> because you know for those moderate or independent voters in the mushy middle of our electorate, they're generally conservative but they're specifically liberal. And what I mean by that is like they all agree with Donald Trump's policy and that and they voted for him in 2024 that we need a secure border. We need to uh deport criminal illegal aliens. But specifically liberal is like, "Oh, well, I saw this poor this picture on Instagram of this girl by this car and ICE um, you know, stole stole her away to a concentration camp.

4:33 I read that and that's the only thing I know about ICE." Yeah. Right. Like that's the issue and we're always going to have that issue. But to Holmes' point, like you can't give up. You got to push through that and do your best. I mean, like here here's a good uh uh hypothetical. You know what's the name of this illegal immigrant that they were trying to arrest that this guy came in with the gun and started assaulting. Do we know? Because that's where I would start if I was the Trump administration. I'd be like, "All right, well, let's reframe this narrative instead of, you know, discussing this video of this guy who had the gun and the gun goes off and the guy tragically loses his life." What was he stopping?

5:06 >> What were they doing then? >> What were they doing? >> And and you know, we need to reframe a lot of these arguments. So, we put the onus on the left to justify why they're out there in the streets stopping law enforcement. >> You're so like, look at the number of things they've done this on. They're hysterical freakouts that then drive the news that's too, you know, quick to go along with them and drive the poll numbers down. Elon and Doge just trying to find government waste, fraud, and abuse. That's it. Just trying to find organizations that are a grift. And and how many months did we spend on the Democrat freakouts over USAD shutting down and the cuts at the Department of Education, these government bureaucrats who were no longer to be able to cash their checks. Then then the the debate

5:50 over the Obamacare subsidies that were necessary in order to fool people into believing that Obamacare was affordable, wasn't as expensive as it was always intended to be. And whether Republicans had an obligation to keep those going, you know, as opposed to letting people feel the pain that Obama inflicted on them dominated the news for weeks. Now we're actually enforcing the law when it comes to immigration. And we've had meltdowns in LA over trying to do it, in Chicago over trying to do it, and now the ultimate meltdown in Minneapolis where it had to be the biggest freak out of all because they're trying to distract from a fraud scandal perpetrated by the Somali community there. Ilan Omar, unbeknownst to us, already under investigation thanks to the Biden DOJ. Because if you would marry your brother to get him into the United States, you would do anything,

6:43 including possibly illegally line your own pockets. It's just I'm sick of it, you know? It's like I feel like the independent lane helped get Trump elected because we were the antidote to the lies the mainstream media was telling. But now that he's actually governing it, it's it's it's we we we don't actually serve as the antidote. people are too primed to hear to listen to all the terrible things about Trump. I don't know if they like buyer's remorse. If like they just want to go back on their original instincts about Trump, it feels good to be like, "No, no, I I hated Kamla, but this guy's a douche." You know, what is it? Why are all these people who actually did vote for Trump now suddenly believing the CNN's and the Nicole Wallace's with their lies about ICE?

7:30 >> Well, I think that's part of the thing is that hit dogs holler. So, anytime you've seen Trump go after, whether it was with Doge or whether it's here in Minnesota when he's going after the grift, which so clearly is funding the Democrats, they flip out. Why would someone freak out about Elon down waste, fraud, and abuse in the government? Because you're funded by the waste, fraud, and abuse. Why would someone freak out about these clear-cut cases of fraud in Minnesota? For God's sake, it was called the Learing Center.

7:59 >> The Learing Center. Of course, that's a fraud that's happening. So they freak out because they get their money from that. In LA, they activated the same troops that they have that get foreign funding. If they scream and make enough of a mess and throw enough of a temper tantrum, parents know if you give in to a toddler freaking out, it's going to do it again and again and again. And that's now the playbook of the left. The thing is that voters knew what they were doing in 2024. They were fed up with an open border. They were fed up with criminals walking the streets of America, killing Americans, robbing from Americans, committing fraud. And you have to see the work through. Republicans cannot step back and let any state Minnesota, California, anyone know that if you make enough of a scene, you know what? We're just going to stop because they've

8:42 gotten away with that. We saw the summer of 2020. >> What What should Homeman do? What should Homeman do in Minnesota? While the police are cooperating and providing protection to ICE, he should double down, triple down as fast as possible. Flood the zone with as many federal agents as possible. Catch these criminals and get to the bottom of it. When you mandate, when you've got cover, get the job done as quickly as possible, as many boots on the ground as possible. >> Yeah. Accomplish the mandate. I mean, I I think it's pretty clear what everybody wants to have happen. Get criminal legals out of your communities. And you can do that. You can do also do that without doing a ticker tape parade down Nicollet Avenue. You know what I mean?

9:21 Like I think that's the beauty of what it is that Tom Hman brings here is he's been doing it for 25 years. He's got medals ringed around his neck from the guy uh ironically who did it the best, Barack Obama in terms of deportation, but is somebody who's just law and order. And I I think they >> But can we talk about that, Holmes? Can we talk about that? What what exactly you're saying? Because there have been many reports in right-wing media that there is a division between Christy Gnome and Bevino on the one side and Tom H. Homeman on the other about how these operations ought to be done. It's really Christy Nome and Cory Luwendowski.

9:55 That's what the right-wing media is saying. Those two are tight, shall we say? And um that they have a disagreement with the Tom Holmans of the world about how these operations ought to be conducted. And reportedly the gnome Luwendowski section doesn't mind the parade down Main Street and also wants wants to focus on all the illegals and Hman is more focused on pinpoint strikes getting rid of just the criminal illegals. But I don't I don't know like I haven't seen the ticker tape parade by Gnome and Luwendowski. I've seen them kind of going about trying to arrest as many as they can. They say it's over 70% criminal illegals and it's the left doing a ticker tape. Like the left creating this chaos around wherever they go. So I you think they're going to be any different when Tom Hman's people show up there to make their arrest?

10:46 >> Well, you already have to assume that the left is going to do what it is. I mean, part of politics is already understanding what it is that the opposite side is going to do before you get engaged in the first place. I mean, so I'm not I'm not faulting Christy Gnome or or the DHS at all. Hell, they secured our border when we were all told that that couldn't happen without federal legislation and they got it done really, really quickly. I think the whole point of what Tom Hman is trying to accomplish here and what he has accomplished throughout the course of his career is it's just law and order.

11:17 When you have cabinet secretaries involved at a very high level or even just below that, you're dealing with it ultimately a political incentive as well. They not only want to get the job done, but they want to take credit for a job being well done. And that introduces an element. >> They may want to run for president. >> It introduces an element of public opinion into the discussion. Tom Hman does not have that. He doesn't give a what you think about him. He's done that his entire career. And that he doesn't even care. Doesn't listen to it.

11:45 Like if you told me that Tom Holman consumed a single sentence of critique about what it is that he's did, I would be shocked by that. >> The man has never Googled ever. >> Right. Exactly. And that's my point. A new year means new financial goals like making sure your savings are secure and diversified. Will this be the year you decide to talk to someone from Birch Gold Group? They use an educational approach with a deep understanding of macroeconomics. There are forces pushing the dollar lower and gold higher, which is why they believe every American should own physical gold. So until January 30th, if you're a first-time gold buyer, Birch Gold is offering a rebate of up to 10 grand on qualifying purchases. To claim eligibility and start the process, just text MK to the number 989898. Birch Gold can help you roll an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA

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Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "The REAL Story About How Trump is Navigating the Issue of Deporting MILLIONS of Illegal Migrants"?

Megyn Kelly (Guest), Harry Enon (Guest), Tom Homan (Guest).

What is "The REAL Story About How Trump is Navigating the Issue of Deporting MILLIONS of Illegal Migrants" about?

The discussion centers on the political struggles Trump faces regarding his handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the deportation of millions of illegal migrants. Recent polling indicates a significant decline in approval ratings for ICE and affiliated leadership, revealing a loss of support among independent voters and highlighting the challenges Trump encounters in…

What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Chrissy Gnome, Ice King, DHS, Tom Holman, Elon Omar. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The REAL Story About How Trump is Navigating the Issue of Deporting MILLIONS of Illegal Migrants"?

The episode runs 13 min; the transcript is about 2,560 words in 21 timestamped sections.

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