Transcript of Legacy Media Claims America’s Turned on ICE. The Polling Says Otherwise

The violence and chaos in Minnesota since the shooting of Renee Good has prompted a series of escalations from Democrats in the State and the Trump administration. It's also sparked a massive public debate. The legacy media says the American people are siding with the Democrats on the issue, while the administration says they've got the public on their side.

In this episode, we sit down with Brent Buchana, President of Signal Polling, who says the legacy media's got it wrong on how the American people are responding Today. I'm Daily Wire executive editor, John Bickley with Georgia How. This is a weekend edition of Morning Wire.

Start the new year with meals that actually make you feel good. Our sponsor, Hello Fresh, takes the stress right out of cooking so you can enjoy delicious homemade dinners every single night. Hello Fresh brings people together with meals that are simple and rewarding, even on your busiest weeknights. With over 100 mouthwatering recipes each week, from seasonal favorites to global dishes like barbecue pork burgers, you'll find bigger portions that ensure nobody leaves the table hungry. Three. Take it from me. I've ordered everything from Hawaiian pizza and nacho crunch burgers to lamb chops and filets. And no matter the meal, it's always top-notch and simple to prep. Plus, you can choose from over 35 high-protein weekly recipes, including new Mediterranean and GLP-1 friendly options, all made with wholesome ingredients like sustained sourced seafood and 100% antibiotic in hormone-free chicken. And when it comes to taste, Hello Fresh knocks it out of the park with steak and seafood options. Go to hellofresh. Com/morningwire10fm to get 10 free meals and a free Iswilling knife on your third box. Offer only valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as a discount on first box. New subscribers only varies by plan.

Joining us now to discuss how the American public is responding to the showdown in Minnesota and Trump's larger immigration agenda is Brent Buchana, founder and President of Signal Polling. Brent, first of all, thank you so much for coming on.

Hi, great to be back.

We've seen a really explosive situation in Minnesota that's highlighting for the American people the realities on the ground for ICE. You've talked about this as a Rorschack test in terms of your political ideology. We wanted to get a sense from you about the American public's response to this, how they feel about the deportations, how they feel about ICE in particular. What are you seeing? Has anything changed significantly over the last few months?

Almost nothing has changed. If you pay attention to the mainstream media, you would think that approval for getting rid of people out of the country who are here illegally has fallen off a cliff, that everybody wants ICE to be done, enforcing our own laws. And the reality is that still 60 % of people want those who are here illegally deported. And back in July, we had 50 % of people saying that they supported the efforts to deport using ICE and even do ICE raids, so that we use that exact language. And when we just asked it earlier this month, it was 48 % support. I If that's a drop, it's a minor drop, I chalk it up to a margin of error.

So even after the shooting, we're still seeing the same result, a 2% difference, like you said, within the margin of error.

Right. And we fielded that survey right after the shooting happened. So it would have captured the hype of the hysteria that the media is pushing.

So what do you see in terms of political strategy? You offer a lot of insight on this for both parties, but particularly for the Trump administration. Do you believe believe that this aggressive strategy during this year, a midterm election year, that they should continue on with this? Is this really precarious for the Trump administration, or do you feel like this is actually upholding promises that in the end is going to be effective for them?

The Trump team has a lot of goodwill to use on this particular topic. It was a huge portion of the 2024 election, and he has a mandate on the issue. One thing that the Trump administration does need to do is remind people why we are doing this. We have seen illegal immigration and border security as a top issue just tank in the last several months, really since Trump took office, and that's because he's done a good job on it. So as that fades from top priority with voters, it is imperative for the Trump team to remind people how many folks came in illegally to this country, what those people were like, and what the benefits are getting rid of them and making them go back to where they came because they broke our laws coming here.

So actually keeping this in the headlines on one level, at least, is good for the Trump administration.

It is. Now, the visuals that go along with it are challenging, and that is because the media only shows one visual. They're not showing everything. They didn't show the four times that that woman in Minnesota broke the law, starting with parking her car in the middle of a street. That is illegal. Everything she did that day was illegal. She was breaking the law. And it fits within the narrative that we see in our polling. We saw this all the way back in October, where we said, Is it okay to go past and beyond peaceful protest when you see ICE rates happening? That was the literal wording of the question. And 24 % of Americans said yes, 70 % said no, do not break the law when you don't like the law.

Yeah, overwhelming.

However, there was a voter segment that stuck out, and it was young liberal white women. What is the ideology, age, and gender of the person who was killed? And she went past peaceful protesting. And 61% of this age group said that it's okay to do this. This demographic is drastically out of touch with the rest of the country.

Right. It's hard to miss that many times the people that are in the faces of ICE agents screaming at them are often women in these videos, not men. In terms of the different demographics, one of the big concerns for the Trump administration is Hispanics. Is Trump losing Hispanics, or is that another false narrative?

He's not doing as well with Hispanics as he was during the election. I think there's a couple of factors to that, the number one being economic. These voters who put Trump over the line in 2024. They're not ideologically conservative. They're also not ideologically liberal. They really don't consider themselves political at all. And there's a large chunk of these voters, especially younger, non- College-educated in both Hispanic communities and Black communities. And they saw Trump as a guy who was going to make this cultural decay and this crazy wokeism and rising inflation and the insanity at the border, all these things that they saw as degrading the fabric of the nation and also their ability to seek opportunity and succeed. They gave him a shot. They also don't have a lot of patience. Republicans are very quick to forget that a lot of times when bases are changing, you're renting voters. You're not You're not dating them. You're not married to them. You rented them for one election. It's going to be important for Republicans to go build relationships in these Hispanic communities for Trump to focus on things that they're saying matter to them because they didn't come our way permanently.

I think they will, but they currently are not.

What about independence? Have you seen any movement from them?

The challenge with independence are they meant... Eighty % of them are veiled partisans, so they have a red or a blue jersey under that jacket. They just keep the jacket zipped up. And who in those groups decides to pay attention and show in elections is really what matters. It's not like there's this group of people in the middle who are truly moderate, truly independent, who decide whether they're going to vote red or blue in an election. That's a really small segment of people. So when you look at numbers of independents right now, the blue Jersey independents are the ones who are fired up. They hate Donald Trump. They're the who are definitely going to show up. And the red Jersey to Independence are tuned out or they don't feel like Trump is achieving the things that they wanted to see on the your cultural side or economic side. And so that's another false media narrative that there's this group of a third of Americans in the middle who truly look at both sides and make a decision. It doesn't work that way.

Now, the economy, which you brought up, in the end, it wins and loses basically every election, almost always. There are some encouraging economic indicators for the Trump administration. We've had really surprising GDP numbers. Fourth quarters looking like it's going to be very good in terms of the data that's coming out. Inflation has cooled. It keeps beating projections by economists every single time. We do see mortgage rates coming down, lower gas prices. But there is a sense that things are still far more expensive than they were a few years ago. A lot of people still feel very much under the gun there. Do you think in terms of the way the economy is playing out this that it's going to help or hinder Republicans?

Well, if they go through a laundry list of bullet points of statistics like you just did, we lose, even if all those numbers are really good. When it comes to the economy, the perception is what matters, not the reality. And voters are looking for somebody to understand a person like them. They're looking for empathy. Every conversation a Republican or the Trump administration has with the media when they're talking to people through that camera or through that microphone needs to start with empathizing with the challenge that people are feeling. Explain what has been done, why it's been done, and not say, Mortgage rates have dropped, I've solved the problem. Not say, eggs are down 20 %, I've solved the problem. But say, this is a small piece, and there's a whole lot of other pieces to go. Voters will give patience if you address their perceptions of it.

Now, as to fraud, and this is the final question here, the fraud that's been exposed in Minnesota and now several other states is broadening and broadening. The depth is actually quite shocking. It's hard to believe. Some of the numbers we're hearing, $9 billion in Minnesota. California is now under the microscope from the Trump administration. This does tie to economic concerns as it's wasted tax a fair of dollars. Is that issue, fraud, going to move the needle at all in either direction for the midterms?

Like all the issues that we've discussed, you have to put the Democrats on the defensive for it. Make them be the party who is okay with fraud. Make them be the party who is okay with keeping illegals here. Make them the party of, just continue this. So when it comes to fraud, waste, and abuse, every American, regardless of political stripe outside of maybe some liberals who benefit from it, believe that the government is corrupt and that it is fraudulent and that it is wasteful. That is a pervasive belief. And so to see these examples coming out of Minnesota, these egregious examples, that's a real opportunity for Republicans to come in and show, look, these people are benefiting. You're getting nothing from your government. When I do focus groups with folks and we have people of varying economic stripes in the group, especially if they're right leaning, it's really amazing how fast the conversation goes that direction. And they believe that there's this huge safety net for people at the very bottom of the economic ladder, and that people at the top of the economic ladder benefit greatly, and that everybody stuck in the middle gets nothing.

And so this is a really good issue example to go in and say, look, those Democrats at the top are giving all this money to these folks over here. You're getting none of it. You're paying for it, actually. So not only are you not benefiting from it, you are funding this. And that is what we're going to go stop. And here's an example of how we're stopping it. It's a very powerful narrative if we can keep the drum beat going. But mainstream media is not going to cover it because it doesn't help who they all support.

Right. And we've looked at the legacy media and their coverage of this issue. And again, maybe not so shocking revelations about how little air time is spent to this. So the Trump administration has an uphill battle indeed. Brent, thank you so much for coming on.

Appreciate it, Doug.

That was Brent Buchana, founder of Signal Polling. And this has been a weekend edition of Morning Wire.

But what I wanted to say, my daughter is fighting the Studium. Semester-bedrag, Laptop, Books, Software, Handys, Internet. A Master is really expensive. Tell her, she can get it back. You mean from a tax-subset, right? But she doesn't deserve it. No, the magic word 'verlustvortrag'. She just makes it with 'visosteuer'. And when she then works, it means, kaching. That's possible? Safe. 'Visosteuer'. Get your money back. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free. Now, free.