Republicans inside the White House and around the country spent Wednesday amplifying a clip that they hope will become a campaign salvo in this year’s midterm elections.
The moment, about an hour into President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday, was conceived by Trump and his top advisers as a trap for Democratic lawmakers, asking them to stand if they agree that “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
The effort to highlight the contrast between Republicans’ robust clapping and Democrats’ decision to stay in their seats began immediately on social media and carried into Wednesday, as House Republicans’ campaign arm held meetings to discuss how they could use the moment in ads.
“Remember this when you head to the polls in 2026, 2028, and beyond,” the Trump War Room declared.
The moment showed how Republicans still see immigration as a potent political issue, even as polling shows them losing their longtime edge on the topic — and as strategists from both parties say the midterms will hinge on the economy.
Democrats, and some Republicans, say Trump’s overreach has turned the issue of immigration in their favor, creating other viral images that will haunt the party in the midterms: A U.S. citizen fatally shotby border agents. A 5-year-old in a bunny hat detained. Almost 6 in 10 voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration and say the president has gone too far in trying to deport undocumented immigrants, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll ahead of Trump’s address.
But Republicans are still elevating the issue, which strategists say could help turn out their core supporters amid a daunting voter enthusiasm gapwith Democrats. They have sought to link immigration to a host of other issues, from welfare fraud to crime.
“I think it resonates more than we think, even though there’s been a big shift,” Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said of the GOP’s immigration rhetoric, suggesting their “Americans versus immigrants” framing has “some real power.”
A February AP-NORC Center poll found that Americans still trusted Republicans more than Democrats on immigration — but only by a four-point margin, down from a 13-point lead in October.
Democrats are looking to go on the offensive on immigration, blasting Trump’s policies as cruel and excessive. While Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger opened her Democratic rebuttal speech by hitting Trump on affordability, the newly elected governor pivoted to criticizing the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.
She denounced “poorly trained federal agents” who have detained and arrested U.S. citizens during Trump’s immigration operations and invoked the “little boy in a blue bunny hat” whose picture went viral. The 5-year-old was eventually transported to a detention center out of state with his father before being released.
“Our president told us tonight that we are safer because these agents arrest mothers and detain children. Think about that,” Spanberger said. “Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed, not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities.”
A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee echoed that message, saying in a statement that the border could be secured and the system repaired “without shooting American citizens on their own streets and terrorizing communities.”
Trump came up with the idea himself to prompt lawmakers to stand and dictated the line to his staff writing his speech, according to a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the internal process.
Trump allies immediately promoted it. Stephen Miller, a top adviser to Trump and key architect of his immigration policy, pinned the footage to the top of his X account. Republican strategists said they were eager to use the moment against vulnerable Democratic incumbents such as Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-New York), whom the cameras caught with his eyes closed.
Vice President JD Vance, whom the White House is deploying to Wisconsin on Thursday as its first messenger to campaign after the State of the Union, used the opening of his Fox News interview on Wednesday to try to drive home the point.
“What a sad commentary that is on the Democratic Party,” Vance said of the notion that Trump’s comment about prioritizing citizens over “illegal aliens” was controversial. “But apparently it was to the Democrats.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) on Wednesday brushed off the criticism.
“Of course we support Americans,” Schumer toldreporters. “We’re not going to be a prop in Donald Trump’s little show.”
Other Republicans are skeptical the moment will resonate. One GOP strategist in a swing state, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid, dismissed it as “political theater.”
“What swing voters want is results. It’s about the economy,” the strategist said. He said the immigration issue could be useful as a targeted message to Republicans less likely to turn out, but declared it “more of a negative than a positive” with the swing voters the party needs to reach.
A memo from the Republicans’ Senate campaign arm the morning after Trump’s speech also emphasized the economy, telling campaign teams that voters consistently rank it as their top issue.
Trump’s ratings on the economy have sunk since he took office: 57 percent of U.S. adults disapproved of how he handled the issue in The Post’s latest poll. Americans were especially sour on his use of tariffs, which upended the global economy.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Post that Trump “remains focused on delivering for American citizens and driving down costs for consumers,” noting declines in rents and mortgage rates in the last year and Trump’s efforts to reduce prescription drug prices.
“President Trump will always stand up for Americans, especially when Democrats remain sitting,” Jackson said in a statement.
Dave Carney, a Republican strategist who previously advised President George H.W. Bush, said immigration messages like the one Trump baited Democrats with on Tuesday are largely effective. But “the overarching theme” of the midterms will be the economy, he said. And it will take much more than just Trump staying on message to win over voters concerned about the cost of living, Carney said. Voters are actually going to have to feel relief.
“What he says and what he does are good, but none of the sort of macroeconomic stuff matters until families in their home feel more comfortable,” Carney said. “It isn’t about the stock market or trade deficit. What will matter is what the cost of gasoline is — which is hugely improved — and what groceries cost and what the rent and their monthly bills are.”
Jason Roe, a longtime GOP strategist in Michigan, said he wished Trump had laid out more of an agenda for the coming year for Republicans to run on. “Promises made, promises kept only gets you so far,” he said.
Democrats say Trump has given them plenty to campaign against — including promises broken.
“Trump and the Republican majorities took ownership of high prices in 2024, because they promised that they were going to lower them fast,” said Andrew Bates, a former aide to President Joe Biden. “They were saying things like, it will be easy day one, immediately — and now people have lived with the opposite for over a year.”
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