Steve Bannon urged the Trump administration to intensify its immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, framing recent protests and unrest as part of a coordinated national threat and criticizing any effort to de-escalate federal operations, as Trump has suggested. During a passage of his War Room podcast, Bannon described Minneapolis as "one of the festering sores of this country" and warned against easing enforcement. "If you blink in Minneapolis, they're gonna overwhelm you, and they're gonna win," he said. Trump has said he wants to "de-escalate a little bit" in Minneapolis, while maintaining that his administration remains committed to aggressive deportation policies. "You blink now and you're going to blink forever," Bannon said in a separate appearance, urging the administration to resist calls for restraint.