This Is the Only Card Trump Can Play

Not since the British occupation of Boston on the eve of the Revolutionary War has an American city experienced anything like the blockade of Minneapolis and its surrounding areas by the federal government.

Acting under the pretext of immigration enforcement, the Trump administration has sent both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to terrorize the people of Minneapolis. Masked paramilitaries stalk streets, schools, businesses and other places of public accommodation in search of anyone deemed “illegal,” regardless of whether they’re citizens or legal residents. Using race as part of their criteria — a now-legal tactic, thanks to a recent opinion from Justice Brett Kavanaugh — armed officers go door to door through neighborhoods searching for Latino, Asian and African people to detain.

And then there is the violence. On Jan. 7, an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good while she was in her vehicle. A video analysis by The New York Times of the footage from that day “shows no indication that the agent who fired the shots, Jonathan Ross, had been run over,” and “establishes how Mr. Ross put himself in a dangerous position near her vehicle in the first place,” eventually shooting into Good’s S.U.V. three times. Since then, we’ve seen multiple attacks on protesters and citizen observers, with ICE officers using flash grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets to harass and disperse demonstrators. We’ve seen evidence of vicious brutality against detainees; on Jan. 8, two U.S. citizens working at a suburban Target were arrested, with one of them seen bleeding and injured.

All occupations resemble one another in some way, and it is striking to read descriptions and accounts of the occupation of Boston in light of events in Minnesota. “Having to stomach a standing army in their midst, observe the redcoats daily, pass by troops stationed on Boston Neck who occupied a guardhouse on land illegally taken it was said from the town, and having to receive challenges by sentries on the streets, their own streets, affronted a people accustomed to personal liberty, fired their tempers, and gnawed away at their honor,” writes the historian Robert Middlekauff in “The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763 to 1789.”

“Harrison Gray, a prominent merchant and a member of the council, told soldiers who challenged him one evening that he was not obligated to respond,” writes Richard Archer of the same period in “As if an Enemy’s Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution.” “They retaliated by thrusting their bayonets toward his chest and detained him for half an hour.”

Consider the language of occupation authorities as well. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and an architect of the administration’s immigration policies, has called protesters violent agitators and accused Minnesota state officials of fomenting an “insurgency” against the federal government. In the same way, the British general who oversaw the Boston occupation, Thomas Gage, described Bostonians as “mutinous” — “desperadoes” who were guilty of “sedition.”

It is also hard not to hear the echo of the Boston Massacre in the killing of Good.

Occupations are, as Americans should know from our experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, brutally unpopular, too. So it goes for the response to the federal occupation of Minnesota. More than half of Americans, according to a recent CNN poll, say that ICE enforcement actions are making cities less safe rather than safer; 57 percent of Americans, according to a survey from Quinnipiac University, disapprove of how ICE is enforcing immigration laws, and 55 percent of Americans support ending mass ICE raids targeting immigrants, according to a poll conducted by YouGov for the A.C.L.U.

For President Trump, the overall effect of the events of the past two weeks has been to pull his numbers even further into the inky depths of unpopularity. Thirty-eight percent of adults approve of the president’s performance, according to a Marist poll released this week; 56 percent disapprove. The Associated Press finds 40 percent approval and 59 percent disapproval, while Reuters reports 41 percent approval and 58 percent disapproval.

Not only is Trump deeply unpopular, according to a new CNN survey that similarly shows 39 percent approval and 61 percent disapproval — 58 percent of Americans say that the first year of his second term was a failure. On virtually every issue more Americans say that the president has made things worse rather than better, and large majorities say Trump has gone too far in the use of presidential power to pursue his own interests.

One way to read the occupation of Minnesota is as a flex — a demonstration of the government’s power and authority. That, perhaps, is how Miller and Kristi Noem see the situation. I smell, on the other hand, a stench of desperation, an attempt to do with force what they can’t accomplish through ordinary politics. Faced with an angry public but committed to a rigid agenda of nativist brutality, the president and his coterie of ideologues are playing the only move they seem to have: wanton violence and threats of further escalation. They think this will break their opposition.

But looking at the ironclad resolve of ordinary Minnesotans to protect their homes and defend their neighbors, I think the administration is more likely to break on their opposition and learn, as the British did in Boston, that Americans are quite jealous of their liberties.

What I Wrote

I wrote about the president’s conception of his power and how it is distinct from — and opposed to — both the Constitution and the larger Anglo-American political tradition:

Trump’s assertion of unlimited authority — subject only to his moral judgment and his mind (whatever that means) — is a total rejection of popular sovereignty and the logic of the Constitution. And for as much as the Trump administration speaks of defending Western civilization, the president’s MAGA absolutism is also a challenge to the foundations of the Anglo-American political tradition — to the settlement of the Glorious Revolution and the defeat of Stuart claims of divine right and parliamentary subordination.

I joined my colleagues Michelle Cottle and David French on an episode of “The Opinions,” and I discussed the 1997 thriller “Murder at 1600” on my podcast with John Ganz. I also made a video for Opinion on themes related to this weekend’s newsletter.

On Jan. 20, I will be at the Aratani Theater in Los Angeles with my colleague Ross Douthat for a conversation about the first year of Trump’s second term, hosted by Kathleen Kingsbury, the editor of Times Opinion. If you are out there, you can buy tickets here.

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Photo of the Week

Seen in Syracuse, N.Y.

Now Eating: Chickpea, Coconut and Cashew Curry

I made this for dinner last week and it was a hit with the whole family. No modifications! Recipe comes from Serious Eats.

Ingredients

For the spice mix:

• 1 ½ teaspoons whole cumin seeds, toasted

• 1 ½ teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted

• 1 whole star anise, toasted

• 2 cloves

• ½ teaspoon black peppercorns, toasted

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1 blade mace

• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 black or green cardamom pod

For the curry:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely minced

• 4 cloves garlic, grated on the medium holes of a box grater

• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated on the medium holes of a box grater

• 1 small red or green chile, finely chopped

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• ½ cup cashew nuts

• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

• 2 (14-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 bunch (about 3 ounces) flat spinach leaves, trimmed, rinsed and roughly chopped

• Kosher salt

• ¼ cup fresh juice from 3 to 4 limes

• ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, coarsely chopped

Directions

Combine cumin, coriander, star anise, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, turmeric and cardamom in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, ginger and chile. Cook, stirring frequently, and scraping bottom of pan until golden brown and starting to burn in spots, about 10 minutes. Add cayenne, cashews and half of spice mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add coconut milk and remove from heat. Scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan.

Transfer mixture to blender and, starting at low speed, slowly increase speed to maximum. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Return mixture to pot. Add chickpeas, spinach and remaining spice mix and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are heated through and spinach is wilted, about 10 minutes. Add salt and lime juice to taste. Stir in half of cilantro.

Transfer to serving bowl, sprinkle with extra cilantro, and serve with lime wedges and steamed rice.

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