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Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Sept. 18, President Trump said Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) had grown soft on immigration enforcement — remarks that outlets including the Washington Post summarized as branding her weak on border security — even as he insisted he still backs her reelection bid.
- Salazar's new ad claims half of the roughly 50,000 people ICE detained in July had no criminal record.
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Her Miami-Dade district is nearly three-quarters Hispanic and backed Trump by roughly 15 points in 2024 — yet an internal poll for her Democratic rival found the race tied at 45%, and a separate Miami-Dade survey found just 29% approval for how deportations are being carried out.
President Trump spent part of Friday picking a fight with one of his own — not a Democratic rival, but a Miami Republican he endorsed seven months ago. Asked about a new campaign ad from Rep. María Elvira Salazar, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his fellow Republican had grown soft on immigration enforcement: "I'm very strong on the borders, and she isn't," he said, according to WLRN. Outlets covering that same exchange, including the Washington Post, distilled the moment into a blunter verdict: the president now considers her weak on border security.
