Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Claps Back After Trump Warns He’s ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’

(AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey clapped back at President Donald Trump on Wednesday after the president lashed out online to warn he was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” in his refusal to assist with the federal deportation push in his city.

The president’s rebuke came just days after Trump said he had “a very good conversation” with the mayor and one day after Frey met with the president’s border czar Tom Homan alongside Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and senior state officials.

Homan had called Tuesday’s meeting with Walz and Frey “productive” but the mayor, in issuing his own statement, had doubled down on his previous position, describing the “serious negative impacts” of ongoing federal operations in Minneapolis and stressing that the city “will not enforce federal immigration laws.”

Taking to Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump reacted and called for someone in Frey’s “inner sanctum” to explain the comment, writing:

Surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frey just stated that, “Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce Federal Immigration Laws.” This is after having had a very good conversation with him. Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!

Frey clapped back an hour later, asserting that the job of the Minneapolis Police Department was to “keep people safe” and “not hunting down a working dad” from “Ecuador.”

The clash comes against the backdrop of two fatal shootings of US citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, which have triggered protests and intensified scrutiny of ICE operations.

After the Homan meeting, Walz’s office said the governor maintained the need for “impartial investigations” into the recent shootings and called for “a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota” and “an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota.”

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!