Democrats and their media surrogates were clearly back on their heels Sunday
as they attempted to simultaneously defend efforts to retrieve deported
illegal alien and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and fight
their way out of increasingly dismal approval ratings.
For those who don't spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television --
and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week's worth of
network and cable news media spin -- The Daily Wire has compiled a short
summary of what you may have missed.
Sunday's spin was largely focused on Abrego-Garcia -- as Democrats and
Republicans split on whether the illegal alien, who had been living in
Maryland despite a legal deportation order issued in 2019, had been denied
due process -- and Senator Chris Van Hollen's (D-MD) trip to El Salvador on
his behalf.
But Democrats also have to contend with the fact that their party is
increasingly unpopular even with their own base -- and that members of the
party do not agree on what's causing that problem or how to fix it. Newly-
elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg announced early
in the week that his organization, Leaders We Deserve, planned to dump $20
million into primary challenges against aging Democrats.
Hogg's announcement prompted the ire of longtime Democratic strategist James
Carville, who referred to the DNC Vice Chair as a "contemptible little twerp"
and suggested that the DNC could sue him for working against the party's
interests. Hogg fired back, saying that Carville had not won an election
since before he was born.
[flames] HOGG vs. CARVILLE feud heats up: Hogg tears into Carville
for calling him "a contemptible little twerp."
"James Carville has not won an election since before I was born.
These are the same ones that had $2 billion to win an election and
still lost."
Oof.
https://t.co/bTmL4hkaiL pic.twitter.com/BxHyaYcpNB
-- Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 19, 2025
Rep. James Coburn (D-SC) made an appearance on MSNBC, where he claimed that
there was nothing wrong with his party's message and that depressingly low
approval ratings were due to legacy media failing to promote that message
heavily enough.
[siren] Clyburn: Democrats have a great message. The reason they're
having problems is because the media isn't leftwing enough.
pic.twitter.com/tsb0cvn4bW
-- Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 20, 2025
Complicating matters even further are recent polls that indicate more and
more Americans are siding with President Donald Trump on illegal immigration,
with a majority of voters favoring the deportation of all illegal immigrants.
Immigration is "where Trump wants the focus... Pretty, pretty
please with a cherry on top."
-His net approval on immigration is positive
-A plurality say under Trump immigration policy is on the right
track (unlike under Biden)
-Most want all undocumented immigrants deported
pic.twitter.com/5RbgJPjW7D
-- (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) April 17, 2025
By Sunday, Van Hollen had returned from his humanitarian mission to visit
deported illegal alien Abrego-Garcia in El Salvador -- so his next order of
business was a netw0rk-by-network tour to talk about it.
On ABC News' "This Week," Van Hollen leaned into the assertion that Abrego-
Garcia had been denied due process and attempted to spin the trip solely as
an effort to defend the illegal's rights.
"I am not defending the man. I'm defending the rights of this man to due
process," he claimed. CNN assisted Van Hollen in his efforts, describing
Abrego-Garcia simply as a "Maryland resident."
"I am not defending the man. I'm defending the rights of this man
to due process."
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen responds to criticism after
advocating for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident deported
for alleged gang ties despite a court order.
https://t.co/BZt1UFtQGG pic.twitter.com/AC5H0nSGyG
-- This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 20, 2025
Van Hollen also criticized Salvadoran officials, whom he said had set up
photo ops during their meeting to make it appear as though Abrego-Garcia was
being treated better than he actually was: "The Salvadoran authorities tried
to deceive people. They tried to make it look like he was in paradise."
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen describes his meeting with Kilmar
Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
"The Salvadoran authorities tried to deceive people. They tried to
make it look like he was in paradise."
https://t.co/CB4ds4BOgX pic.twitter.com/VvekLMi59J
-- This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 20, 2025
Van Hollen repeated that same sentiment on CBS News' "Face the Nation,"
saying, "They go to great lengths to deceive people, and that's what you saw.
These government guys essentially told the waiters to bring these drinks that
appear to look like margaritas to the table. No one touched them."
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says El Salvador's government "staged"
elements of his photos with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man
who was wrongly deported to a Salvadoran supermax prison, "to create
the impression that this is a guy in paradise."
"They go to great lengths... pic.twitter.com/KmKlcFQrok
-- Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 20, 2025
On NBC News' "Meet the Press," Van Hollen claimed that the Trump
administration was "flouting the courts" and provoking a "constitutional
crisis" by allowing Abrego-Garcia - who is a citizen of El Salvador -- to
remain in Salvadoran custody.
Sen. Van Hollen says U.S. in constitutional crisis with Trump
'flouting the courts': Full interview
https://t.co/tigmhVXude -- Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 20, 2025
And on "Fox News Sunday," Van Hollen admitted to anchor Shannon Bream that
his trip to El Salvador had been an "official Congressional trip," meaning
that it had been financed with taxpayer dollars.
[siren] @ChrisVanHollen confirms taxpayers paid for him to fly to
El Salvador and sip margaritas with a deported illegal immigrant
MS-13 gang member pic.twitter.com/xByXzeRoYi
-- Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 20, 2025
CNN anchor Dana Bash pressed Van Hollen on Abrego-Garcia's alleged ties to
violent Salvadoran street gang MS-13 -- noting that the Trump administration
has cited court documents indicating that he is or was a member -- but the
Maryland Senator admitted he had not even asked about that.
"Can you say with absolute certainty that he is not, nor has he ever been a
member of the MS-13 gang, and did you ask him point blank?" Bash asked.
"What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject. The subject at
hand is that he and his administration are defying a court order to give to
give Abrego Garcia his due process rights. They are trying to litigate on
social media what they should be doing in the courts," Van Hollen complained.
"I didn't ask him that because I know what his answer is what he told me was
he was sad and traumatized that he was being in prison because he has
committed no crimes, and that goes to the heart of this issue because he's
being denied his due process rights."
BASH: "Can you say with absolute certainty that he is not, nor has
he ever been a member of the MS-13 gang, and did you ask him point
blank?"
VAN HOLLEN: "What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the
subject. The subject at hand is that he and his administration are...
pic.twitter.com/QlXZZANLXf
-- State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) April 20, 2025
Meanwhile, during a different segment on ABC News, host Jon Karl pressed
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on the party's struggles with
low popularity numbers -- and Hogg's promise to aid in unseating some
incumbent Democrats going into 2026.
"I look forward to standing behind every single Democratic incumbent, from
the most progressive, to the most centrist, and all points in between,"
Jeffries replied.
When asked about DNC vice chair David Hogg pushing to unseat some
incumbents, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says, "I look forward to standing
behind every single Democratic incumbent, from the most progressive,
to the most centrist, and all points in between."
https://t.co/QVCltLFudC pic.twitter.com/Vr4s5xkLTm
-- This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 20, 2025
But Hogg also made it clear later in the broadcast that he had no intention
of backing down either. "We cannot just be the party that is against Donald
Trump. We have to be a party that doesn't have a 27% approval rating from our
own base. That is not a survivable future."
"We cannot just be the party that is against Donald Trump. We have
to be a party that doesn't have a 27% approval rating from our own
base. That is not a survivable future," DNC vice chair David Hogg
says of his push to challenge incumbent House Democrats.
https://t.co/DaDPijvbEu pic.twitter.com/K1rfpnOzsn
-- This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 20, 2025
Spin Cycle: Due Process, And Panic(!) At The DNC