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No longer confined to the partisans and activists, the fierce backlash against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to break out across American culture, spanning the worlds of business, sports and entertainment.Bruce Springsteen released a new song Wednesday that slammed “Trump’s federal thugs.” OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman told employees that “what’s happening with ICE is going too far,” referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And lifestyle icon Martha Stewart lamented that “we can be attacked and even killed.”“Things must and have to change quickly and peacefully,” Stewart wrote to her 2.9 million Instagram followers this week.A little more than one year into his second term, Trump is facing a broad cultural revolt that threatens to undermine his signature domestic priority, the Republican Party’s grip on power and his own political strength ahead of the midterm elections.Trump, a former reality television star often attuned to changes in public opinion, tried to shift the conversation this week by dispatching border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to replace Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander who has been a lightning rod.But it’s unclear if the move will change anything on the ground.Thousands of federal agents remain in Minnesota, where two U.S. citizens have been killed and communities have felt besieged by Trump’s crackdown. Meanwhile, operations have expanded into Maine as well. White House is ‘spooked’ Republican strategist Doug Heye said it’s too soon to know whether Trump’s attempt to control the fallout will work. He’s been in communication with Republican leaders across Washington in recent days who are worried that the escalating situation could jeopardize control of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections.“It’s very clear that the administration is spooked,” Heye said.And while some in the party may be concerned, Trump’s Make America Great Again base remains largely unified behind him and the immigration crackdown that he promised repeatedly on the campaign trail. They’re pushing the president not to back down.“It’s time for President Trump to ramp up mass deportations even more,” Laura Loomer, a Trump loyalist who has the president’s ear, told The Associated Press. “And if Minnesota is any barometer, it’s time for the focus to be on deporting as many Muslims as possible.”Such advice is at odds with a growing faction of prominent voices across American culture. Who is speaking out? Joe Rogan, a leading podcast host who endorsed Trump during his comeback campaign, said he sympathizes with concerns about immigration agents’ tactics.“Are we really going to be the Gestapo?” Rogan said. “‘Where’s your papers?’ Is that what we’ve come to?”Over the weekend, more than 60 corporate executives, including the leaders of Target, Best Buy and UnitedHealth, released a public letter calling for de-escalation following the death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Veterans Affairs nurse fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents.The outcry intensified as the week progressed.Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday issued a memo to employees saying he was “heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis.”“I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they’re from, and when we embrace our shared humanity,” Cook wrote in the memo, first reported by Bloomberg News.Tech billionaire and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla used stronger language on social media to condemn “macho ICE vigilantes running amuck.”Jason Calacanis, a prominent tech podcaster, on Wednesday warned of dire consequences for Trump if he does not make sweeping changes among the people running the immigration crackdown.“President Trump needs to replace them all and reverse his plummeting ratings, or the entire Trump 2.0 agenda is over,” Calacanis wrote to his 1 million X followers. “America needs to put this dark and disgusting chapter behind us and unite behind a crisper immigration policy.” Actors and musicians speak up More outrage came from the entertainment industry, which is often viewed as a liberal bastion.Springsteen dropped his new song, “The Streets of Minneapolis,” on Wednesday. The famed musician referenced Pretti’s death directly.“Trump’s federal thugs beat up on his face and his chest. Then we heard the gunshots. And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead,” Springsteen sings.Other actors and entertainers who spoke out in recent days include Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish. Actor Mark Ruffalo described Pretti’s death as “cold-blooded murder.”The sports world has also begun to engage.Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch called the shootings “unconscionable” and expressed support for protesters. So did superstar NBA player Steph Curry.“There’s a lot of change that needs to happen,” Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, told reporters this week. He said he’s been glued to news coverage of the latest Minnesota shooting.Guerschon Yabusele, of the New York Knicks, went further the day after Pretti’s shooting.“I can’t remain silent. What’s happening is beyond comprehension,” he wrote on X. “We’re talking about murders here, these are serious matters. The situation must change, the government must stop operating in this way. I stand with Minnesota.” Trump may be getting the message Trump appears to be softening his tone on immigration at least by his standards.“We’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” he said during a Tuesday interview on Fox News. He also chided Bovino, whom he displaced from his role.“Bovino is very good, but he’s a pretty out-there kind of a guy,” he said. “In some cases, that’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good here.”But Trump pushed back on the characterization that he was scaling back his operations in Minnesota. And in a social media post, he warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey that he was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” by refusing to enforce federal immigration laws.Even before Pretti’s death Saturday, public opinion was starting to turn against Trump on immigration, which was among his strongest issues at the beginning of his second term.Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, down from 49% in March. That’s according to an AP-NORC poll conducted Jan. 8-11, shortly after the first shooting death of a U.S. citizen in Minnesota.There’s also some indication that Trump’s approval on immigration could be slipping among Republicans. The president’s approval among self-described Republicans fell from 88% in March to 76%in the January AP-NORC poll.A separate Fox News poll, which was conducted Friday through Monday, found that 59% of voters described ICE as “too aggressive,” a 10-point increase since last July. AP writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed. Steve Peoples, AP National Political Writer
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E-Commerce
Tesla, a brand once synonymous with consumer electric vehicles, is ditching some of the cars that brought its success. CEO Elon Musk has announced that the Model S and X vehicles are getting an honorable discharge, with production of them ending sometime next quarter. Instead, the company will use some of its factory space to build its humanoid Optimus robots. The news, shared during Teslas quarter-four earnings call on Wednesday, January 28, comes as Tesla expands manufacturing of its Optimus robots, full self-driving vehicles, and robotaxis. In fact, Tesla used its quarterly earnings report to describe itself as a physical AI company. That report holds many of the answers as to why. Teslas total revenue fell 3% year-over-year from $25.7 billion to $24.9 billion, while its automotive revenues fell 11% YOY from $19.8 billion to $17.7 billion. In quarter four, production of Model S and X vehicles dropped by 48% YOY, while deliveries fell 51% YOY. None of this was helped by Elon Musks polarizing political views, on-again, off-again relationship with President Donald Trump, and the termination of $7,500 EV tax credits last fall. Despite all this, Musk used the investors call to make one last push to customers: If you’re interested in buying a Model S and X, now would be the time to order. The two models made up less than 3% of deliveries over the last quarter, with the remainder being Model 3 and Y vehicles. The latter two models appear to still be available for Tesla customers. Whats next for Tesla? Tesla is all in on AI. Earlier this month, the company invested about $2 billion in xAI, another Musk venture. The pair also created a framework agreement to collaborate on AI that should enhance Teslas ability to develop and deploy AI products and services into the physical world at scale, according to Teslas quarterly report. The company plans to announce the Gen 3 version of Optimus this quarter and says its the first one designed to be mass produced. Tesla aims to start production of the humanoid robot by the end of this year and plans to reach one million robots annually. However, Musk noted that Tesla is still at the early stages when it comes to Optimus. So far, it has only completed some basic factory tasks. Finally, Tesla is continuing to push its full self-driving mode and robotaxisthough most places still require a safety monitor. The pivot doesnt seem to have rattled investors. Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) rose a bit over 2% in premarket trading on Thursday. The stock is up more than 10% over the last 12 months.
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E-Commerce
The Trump administration’s high-profile deployment of federal troops to six U.S. cities has cost taxpayers roughly $496 million through the end of December, and continued deployment could cost over $1 billion for the rest of the year, according to new data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.President Donald Trump has justified sending National Guard troops into U.S. cities as part of an effort to combat crime and support local law enforcement. Critics of the move argue the deployments undermine state and local authority and exceed the president’s authority under the Constitution.The CBO published the new data estimating the costs associated with the federal deployments of National Guard and active-duty Marines after a request from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who is the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee.“The American people deserve to know how many hundreds of millions of their hard-earned dollars have been and are being wasted on Trump’s reckless and haphazard deployment of National Guard troops to Portland and cities across the country,” Merkley said in a statement about the CBO report.Factored into the estimates are troop deployments to Chicago, Memphis, Portland, as well as Los Angeles in June, when protesters took to the streets in response to a blitz of immigration arrests. The CBO said continued deployments to those cities would cost about $93 million per month.The estimate excludes the military’s December deployment to New Orleans.For further possible deployments down the road, the CBO estimates deploying 1,000 National Guard personnel to a U.S. city in 2026 would cost $18 million to $21 million per month, depending on the local cost of living.National Guard troops are expected to remain deployed in Washington throughout 2026, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press earlier this month.The troop deployments have provoked legal challenges from local leaders, and some have been successful. A California federal judge in January ruled that the Trump administration “willfully” broke federal law by sending National Guard units to the Los Angeles area.White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson did not address the CBO’s cost estimate but said in a statement that the White House’s deployment efforts have driven down crime.“Thanks to the Trump Administration’s highly successful efforts to drive down violent crime, cities like Memphis and D.C. are much safer for residents and visitors with crime dropping across all major categories,” she said. “The media should talk to individuals who are able to go about their daily lives without fear of being assaulted, carjacked, or robbed thanks to the Trump Administration.” Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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