We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

CNN’s Kasie Hunt reacted with shock on Wednesday after she heard a clip of incoming border czar Tom Homan threatening a Democrat mayor with arrest.

That mayor, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, spoke earlier this month of using local cops and crowds of local citizens to block deportations in what he called a “Tiananmen Square moment.”

“More than us having [federal agents] stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” he said, describing this idea. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.”

The remarks prompted so much backlash that he kind of took his statement back in an interview with a local news station, though he still stressed that he thought Colorado citizens should stand up for illegal aliens.

“Would I have taken it back if I could?” he began. “Yes, I probably wouldn’t have used that image. That’s the image I hope we can avoid. What I was trying to say is this is an outcome I hope we can avoid in this country. I think none of us want that.”

When asked if he’d himself protest, he said yes.

“I would if I believed that our residents are having their rights violated,” the mayor said. “I think things are happening that are illegal or immoral or un-American in our city, I would certainly protest it, and I would expect other residents would do the same.”

When asked if he’d even be willing to go to jail for this cause, again he said yes.

“Yeah, I’m not afraid of that, and I’m also not seeking that,” he said. “I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people how to solve hard problems.”

Responding to the latter remarks a few days later on Fox News, Homan threatened Johnston with possible jailtime.

“You are absolutely breaking the law,” he said of the mayor. “All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S. and he would see he’s breaking the law. But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing: He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail.”

Now fast-forward to Wednesday, when Hunt played a clip of Homan’s latter remarks.

“Oooooof!” she exclaimed in shocked response before asking a question of one of her guests, ex-Trump White House communications director Mike Dubke.

“Mike Dubke, I mean, look, it’s very clear the country is very unhappy with the way immigration has been playing out,” she said. “They’re concerned about the security at the border.”

“Where do you think the Trump administration — I mean, some of the measures they’re talking about, I mean, that language of like, if you harbor somebody, we will find you. You know, if the Denver mayor wants to go to jail. I mean, that has some significant and more extreme echoes than some of what we heard from the Trump campaign on the trail,” she added.

Listen to Dubke’s response below:

“There are several stages to arresting immigration at the border, one of which that worked incredibly well in the early days of the first Trump administration was the rhetoric,” Dubke responded. “Tom Homan’s very strong language is going to restrict and impede the number of people that are actually flooding the border.”

“You’re saying it’s going to discourage people from trying to come?” Hunt then asked.

“Totally discourage that,” Dubke replied. “That is super important. And that is something we saw when the Biden administration came in. There was a flood for a reason. The rhetoric was toned down.”

Dubke nailed it. Rhetoric — it’s all about rhetoric. Take President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of imposing massive tariffs on Mexico and Canada. The leaders of both nations have already bent the knee to Trump in response, with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau being the second one to fall in line:

As previously reported, Trudeau flew to Florida and dined with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago this Friday, becoming the first foreign G7 leader to visit with him since the election.

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.