President Donald Trump turned on Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) on Saturday afternoon after originally retaining his support for the Miami-area Republican after she released an advertisement criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Salazar, whose race tightened this week, made headlines earlier in the month for releasing an advertisement shot outside the White House that argued Trump’s enforcement of immigration law had “gone too far” and the Hispanic voters who helped him win the 2024 presidential election were growing critical of his presidency.
Trump largely backed Salazar when asked about the advertisement in the Oval Office the next day, reiterating his endorsement helped her get elected and that she was “very nice.” He also noted she had “gone a little soft on the border” but otherwise maintained his support for her. Salazar said days later she had a “very good conversation” with the president about the advertisement, saying that he was “very receptive.”
That perception of Trump’s continued support was undone when he posted a screenshot on social media of a Washington Post report that featured multiple interviews with Hispanic Trump voters in her district who said she had “misread their sentiment” and they still supported him. One said Trump is “doing what he can, and he could do even more,” while another said one of the reasons he won was “because [voters] wanted to get all the illegal people out of here.”
Trump posted 13 screenshots of X posts from users expressing their disdain for Salazar. Multiple said Trump should endorse a primary challenger to defeat her in two years should she hold on to her seat this election cycle, while others claimed she was pro-amnesty and released the advertisement to appease donors who oppose strict immigration laws. One user said “Trump should remove his endorsement for her,” while another said we need a “new” Republican to replace her.
“I am one of those voters in her district,” one user said. “I should have voted for the guy that primaried her.”
Salazar isn’t the only Republican running for reelection who has turned on a Trump administration policy in recent weeks. Voters increasingly frustrated with his second term have cited persistent inflation, largely a byproduct of the Trump administration’s tariff regime and the conflict in Iran, as a core reason for souring on the president. Republican candidates such as Mike Rogers and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) recently broke with Trump by calling for an end to the tensions in the Middle East.
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Salazar, a former TV anchor and the child of Cuban immigrants, represents a district where nearly three-quarters of residents are Hispanic. It stretches from wealthy communities such as Key Biscayne to more working-class neighborhoods.
Trump won Salazar’s district by 14 percentage points in 2024. Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a non-partisan race-rater, shifted the seat on Tuesday from “likely Republican” to “leaning Republican.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
