MAGA influencers attack GOP Rep. Salazar for criticizing Trump immigration policy

Midterm-bound Republicans have sought to distance themselves from the president's declining popularity, but MAGA supporters are not letting them off easily.

A wave of far-right influencers has targeted Florida Representative Maria Elvira Salazar after her campaign aired an advertisement denouncing Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

"Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far," Salazar said in the ad. "In July, 50 percent of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record."

"Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy," she continued. "The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today."

Reactions from MAGA Figures

• Florida County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, a MAGA activist, wrote online that the White House should "deport her ASAP," apparently forgetting that Salazar was born in Miami and is therefore a U.S. citizen.

• Former Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino derided Salazar as "anti-American."

"Republicans, which side are YOU on—the side of the taxpayer or the side of those who wish to destroy our republic? Now's your shot at making a difference," he posted on social media.

• Christian Ziegler, a GOP strategist, argued that Salazar "shouldn't be allowed back into the White House" due to the ad.

"No meetings with the President. No meetings with WH staff. No Oval Office. No Congressional picnic. No Christmas parties or Egg Rolls," Ziegler commented, insinuating that only loyalist MAGA supporters should be allowed to interact with the president.

"Salazar has put the President in a position where he has to pick between being impeached—or—helping a pro-amnesty Republican get elected," Ziegler added.

• Laura Loomer, a self-described proud Islamophobe, extended her criticism toward the president's entourage, rhetorically asking, "Which political genius who works for our President did the vetting on Salazar?"

"To be honest, it is hard not to feel black pilled by so many of the incompetent people who work for the President," Loomer continued in a post on X, using a nihilistic metaphor that originated in the incel community. "They go out of their way to sabotage, gatekeep and they seem to love giving access and endorsements to horrible candidates who hate the President and don't even support his policies."

"They better hope Republicans show up this November or they will have made President Trump a lame duck President in his second term," she wrote.

Read more about Salazar's ad: Latina House Republican Says Trump Betrayed His Hispanic Supporters

Measles Exposure Reported at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

There has been a "probable" measles exposure at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP)—the latest devastating news in what has been the worst year for measles in the United States since the often-fatal, highly contagious virus was declared eradicated in 2000.

The likely exposure occurred on September 11, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH), and may have impacted two neonatal intensive care units, an atrium, and the main cafeteria.

"CHOP, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and PDPH are working closely to ensure potentially exposed infants receive a preventative antibody product to prevent or lessen severe disease and to take steps to prevent the further spread of measles," the city health department said in a statement on Thursday.

This development comes amid intense scrutiny of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s performance, as calls for his resignation have grown alongside measles cases. There have also been reports of RFK Jr. disputing the number of cases and personally requesting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to alter its data.