President Donald Trump praised Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers for their “larger” and “harder” muscles that they’re "supposed to have” after he deployed agents to more than a dozen airports, where their presence doesn’t appear to have made a dent in hours-long security lines across the country.
“They are so proud to be there!” he wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Armed officers wearing military-style vests moved into at least 15 major transit hubs on Monday to supplement Transportation Security Administration personnel who have been working without pay while Congress is deadlocked on a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA as well as ICE and other immigration agencies.
Trump said agents are “rehabbing” their “fake image” from Democratic critics — after months of violence and allegations of unconstitutional abuse and the deadliest streak of in-custody deaths in the agency’s history — by picking up trash and helping people with bags. Officers have mostly been seen strolling through terminals or standing in groups, largely unable to help TSA agents expedite security screenings while travelers are stuck in lines.
“The Public is loving ICE, so the Democrats, unwittingly, did us a favor,” Trump wrote. “They are Great American Patriots, they just happen to have much larger, and harder, muscles than most — which is what they’re supposed to have.”
Trump routinely, and publicly, judges people on their physical appearance, from praising “that face” and “those lips” on his White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to comparing military officials to Tom Cruise and berating women journalists for not smiling at him.
“Young, handsome guy. It’s always nice to be young and handsome,” he said during his first “Board of Peace” meeting last month.
“I don’t like young, handsome men,” he said. “Women? That I like. Men, no.... I don’t have any interest.”
Earlier this week, Trump said the ICE agents are relieving TSA workers, performing immigration arrests and providing “security like no one has ever seen before” — but ICE agents cannot perform most TSA screening duties, making it unclear what impact, if any, the deployment of armed federal officers into American airports will have on security wait times.
The presence of mask-free ICE agents, who are still being paid during the partial shutdown, has drawn mixed reactions from airline passengers who are already on edge, while civil rights groups and unions representing federal workers argue that ICE’s presence only injects unnecessary fear and potential violence into an already-tense environment.
TSA workers considered essential staff have been showing up to work without a paycheck over the last month, but workers are calling out sick and roughly 400 employees have quit. More than a third of TSA officers at Atlanta’s airport — the busiest in the U.S., handling roughly 100 million passengers annually — have called out sick.
Most airports are no longer displaying TSA wait times during the shutdown but are instead advising travelers to show up at least four hours before their flights.
Democratic members of Congress have proposed separate funding bills to keep TSA running while lawmakers hammer out guardrails for federal immigration enforcement, but Republicans have rejected the proposals.
In a separate post on Truth Social, the president blamed Democrats “for the Airport’s mess” and suggested he would send in the National Guard next.
“Thank you to our great ICE Patriots for helping,” he wrote. “It makes a big difference. I may call up the National Guard for more help.”
Iran-US war live: Trump prepared to ‘unleash hell’ if Tehran doesn’t negotiate
TSA airport delays latest news: Trump floats calling in National Guard
Mexican President Sheinbaum says she will uphold Cuban doctor agreement as other countries dip out
Noem mocked over new diminished role after ouster as DHS boss
Iran pushes back on Trump’s peace plan: ‘It’s not even beautiful on paper’
Conservative activist claimed 2020 election was rigged is convicted of election fraud
