- After so much chaos and unrest in the Minneapolis area due to the Feds conducting immigration enforcement, it was beyond time for a change in strategy. Combine that with the fact that top officials in the Trump administration poorly handled the aftermath of the shooting death of Alex Pretti, the status quo was no longer tenable.
Thankfully, the only adult in the room among President Donald Trump's immigration team is getting the call.
"I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota" is directionally the opposite of "I am sending the 11th Airborne to Minnesota" and is, at least for the moment, a promising sign they have actually realized for once that they are out way over their skis. pic.twitter.com/k1ODt1pXSV
— Andrew Egger (@EggerDC) January 26, 2026
There have been reports that Homan and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem have been at odds over these operations. Noem et al preferred to engage in sweeping operations (i.e. Home Depot and car washes) while Homan prioritized violent criminals with multiple deportation orders. Thankfully, the latter looks to continue in Minnesota while US Border Patrol head Greg Bovino and many CBP agents will be leaving the state for operations elsewhere.
I'm guessing the White House being put on the defensive over the Second Amendment as well as hemorrhaging political support on their pet issue motivated Trump to make this move. Better late than never.
- I remarked last week that while attending a MNGOP gubernatorial candidate forum, I left very impressed with attorney Chris Madel, who was the true political outsider. I even placed him in my top 3 most formidable candidates.
Less than a week later, this shocking development occurred.
Attorney Chris Madel has ended his campaign for Minnesota governor. In a video published Monday morning, Madel said Minnesota faces serious challenges, but Operation Metro Surge has made running a Republican campaign untenable.
Referring to the federal government’s ongoing immigration enforcement efforts in the state, Madel said, “I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
This appeared to be a reference to a Jan. 13 statement from President Donald Trump in which Trump said ICE wants to remove dangerous criminals from Minnesota and Democrats “love the unrest” that has occurred because it distracts from fraud.
“FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!” the president said.
A longtime trial attorney, Madel said he supports Operation Metro Surge’s “originally stated goals” of locating and deporting the “worst of the worst” non-U.S. citizens who have been convicted of sex crimes and violent offenses.
However, Madel said “Operation Metro Surge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats. United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship; that’s wrong.”
Many progs and non-Trump Republicans posted video footage of the 2-minute excerpt featuring Madel's rationale for leaving the race. What's notable is that Madel's entire diatribe, which lasted nearly 11 minutes, included his crediting the Trump administration for attaining a cease fire in Gaza while simultaneously blasting leftists for their conspicuous silence on what was supposedly a dire issue for them for two years. Also, he didn't spare any harsh words for Gov. Tim Walz or Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over their lack of cooperation with the Feds in rooting out violent criminals with multiple deportation orders.
Do yourself a favor and check out the entire speech.
I am ending my campaign for Minnesota Governor. I describe why in the below video. Please watch until the end. (It is 10 minutes, 52 seconds.)
— Chris Madel (@CWMadel) January 26, 2026
Thank you,
Chris pic.twitter.com/2nfyAyTzNZ
This is also Madel's way of telling Republicans they better get their poop in a group, posthaste.
- Former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is going to the Super Bowl! After a 31-27 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday's NFC Championship Game, Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks are going to the franchise's fourth ever appearance in that ultimate game.
I've noticed a lot of my fellow Vikings fans lamenting Darnold moving on, almost implying had he remained in Minnesota that it could've been our Vikes on the cusp of the big game. Obviously there's no way to know for sure, but given the Vikings missed the playoffs by literally a half game while enduring (to be charitable) substandard QB play the majority of the 17 regular season games, it's not a stretch to say they would have at least made the playoffs.
For the record, I supported the move to let Darnold walk via free agency after 2024 and thus usher in the JJ McCarthy era. I felt with the high profile moves the Vikings made in free agency combined with stellar coaching from Kevin O'Connell that McCarthy would have a good enough infrastructure to lead this team to 10 or more wins. But McCarthy's lack of durability (only 10 starts in 17 games) to go along with O'Connell's obstinance to design a more balance offensive game plan (i.e. take heat off the young QB by utilizing a good running game) torpedoed the Vikings season. It also didn't help that the highly touted offensive line played less than a third of the snaps together due to injuries.
At the end of the day, the Vikings had to spend so much money in free agency last year due to GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's first three drafts (2022 thru 2024) not producing enough starters. As such, there wasn't enough money remaining to retain Darnold.
Let's just say there's a nonzero chance that ownership will clean house next year at this time if the Vikings miss the postseason again in 2026.
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