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MaddowBlog-Steve Bannon calls ICE agents at airports part of a 'test run' for the midterm elections
Radical ideas can pop up on the “War Room” podcast, but it’s not unusual to see those same ideas spread quickly in Republican politics.
Link to tweet
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/steve-bannon-calls-ice-agents-at-airports-part-of-a-test-run-for-the-midterm-elections
One of the president’s allies, however, shared some insights into a possible motivation for the policy. The Hill reported:
His guest, predictably, wasted little time in expressing his agreement.
To be sure, reports like these come with caveats. Bannon is a prominent MAGA voice, but he’s not currently a White House official and he has earned a reputation as a blowhard who says outrageous things to get attention. There’s no reason to assume Bannon has any idea what he’s talking about in terms of likely future developments.....
In other words, radical ideas can pop up on “War Room,” but it’s not unusual to see those same ideas spread quickly in GOP politics.
What’s more, there’s a certain political logic behind the dynamic Bannon described. The administration may very well want Americans to grow more accustomed to seeing ICE agents — on public streets, in busy airports and elsewhere — so that it seems less jarring to see them similarly patrolling local polling places, looking for fraudulent voters who don’t exist in any meaningful way.
A few months ago, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appeared on MS NOW and told Rachel Maddow that he was concerned about the Republican administration deploying federal agents to polling locations under the pretense of “protecting the vote.” The more Bannon endorses this approach, the more alarming his rhetoric becomes.
Former White House strategist and podcaster Steve Bannon said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers assisting with airport operations is a “test run” for the 2026 midterms.
During a conversation with conservative lawyer Mike Davis on his ‘War Room’ program, Bannon asked, ‘We can use what’s happening with these ICE [officers] helping out at the airports, we can use this as a test run, as a test case to really perfect ICE’s involvement in the 2026 midterm elections, sir?[/i]’
His guest, predictably, wasted little time in expressing his agreement.
To be sure, reports like these come with caveats. Bannon is a prominent MAGA voice, but he’s not currently a White House official and he has earned a reputation as a blowhard who says outrageous things to get attention. There’s no reason to assume Bannon has any idea what he’s talking about in terms of likely future developments.....
In other words, radical ideas can pop up on “War Room,” but it’s not unusual to see those same ideas spread quickly in GOP politics.
What’s more, there’s a certain political logic behind the dynamic Bannon described. The administration may very well want Americans to grow more accustomed to seeing ICE agents — on public streets, in busy airports and elsewhere — so that it seems less jarring to see them similarly patrolling local polling places, looking for fraudulent voters who don’t exist in any meaningful way.
A few months ago, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appeared on MS NOW and told Rachel Maddow that he was concerned about the Republican administration deploying federal agents to polling locations under the pretense of “protecting the vote.” The more Bannon endorses this approach, the more alarming his rhetoric becomes.
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