Trump Turns On Salazar After Florida Republican Challenges His Immigration Crackdown

President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his criticism of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), amplifying a series of social media posts attacking the Florida Republican and, in multiple instances, calling for her replacement ahead of her election in just over a month.

Trump reposted more than a dozen messages criticizing Salazar on Truth Social, the president’s social media platform, including one user’s post that read: “So we need a NEW Republican to Replace Salazar.” Several Trump loyalists, including Laura Loomer, have for months called on the president to abandon his endorsement of her.

Salazar last week released a campaign ad filmed in front of the White House challenging Trump’s immigration crackdown. In the ad, she said his administration’s enforcement efforts had “gone too far” and warned that Hispanic voters who helped Trump win the White House in 2024 felt betrayed. Recent public polling has shown Trump’s approval among Latino voters in decline.

Other posts accused the three-term congressmember of betraying Trump — echoing long-standing criticism from MAGA that the Florida lawmaker is pro “amnesty” as an immigration policy, a characterization that she has repeatedly denied.

“When asked if the posts meant a withdrawal of an endorsement, a White House official didn't answer whether Trump would still support her, but said, “It’s unfortunate she has her view, but that is not the President’s. The President campaigned on a strong border, which was a large reason as to why he won by a landslide in 2024.”

Salazar’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The posts mark the sharpest break yet between Trump and Salazar, whom he gave his “Complete and Total Endorsement” for reelection as recently as August for doing a “truly fantastic job” representing Florida’s 27th Congressional District.

The Cuban American member of Congress represents one of the most Hispanic districts in the country, where over 70% of the electorate is Hispanic. She also won her primary handily with over 80% of the vote.

Earlier this week, Salazar said she had a “fantastic conversation” with Trump about the issue and that he “listened.”

In the days following the release of her new ad, Trump told reporters that he still supported Salazar and had seen the ad. “I’m very strong on the borders — and she isn't,” Trump said. He also claimed she won her seat because of his endorsement in 2020, when she ousted former Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala.

The rupture comes as Trump’s 2024 coalition has only grown more divided on the issue, according to the results of a recent POLITICO Poll that found an emerging crack in the president’s base over how tough to be on immigration.

While Trump’s MAGA base has increasingly pushed the administration to crack down further on illegal immigration and push ahead with their full-throttle mass-deportation rhetoric, the issue proved politically perilous for the GOP earlier this year. ICE crackdowns from Minneapolis to Texas to Maine prompted calls from Democrats to battleground Republicans to turn the temperature down on immigration.

Salazar has come under fire from the MAGA base over the “Dignity Act,” her sweeping bipartisan immigration proposal that would provide a pathway to legal status for immigrants who have no criminal record and have resided in the U.S. for multiple years. Salazar has pushed back, saying her proposal does not grant “amnesty” as it does not offer a pathway to citizenship.

Salazar’s Miami seat is among Democrats’ top targets to flip in November.