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The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent
2026 February 17

Now that Donald Trump appears to be largely drawing down his violent occupation of Minneapolis, the administration is resorting to a time-honored tradition: declare victory and go home. In a bizarre interview, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went full cult and called the operation a resounding success. But she also spun it as targeting criminals, effectively revealing that it’s no longer possible to tell the truth about Trump’s actual mass-deportation agenda. This is a moment of unusual political vulnerability for Trump and the White House on this issue. But are Democrats doing all they can to exploit it? We think they’re not. So we’re talking to Anat Shenker-Osorio, a Democratic message strategist who often argues that Democrats let polls limit their ability to exploit critical political opportunities. Anat, nice to have you on.