Steve Stromberg

I'm Steve Stromberg, an editor for New York Times Opinion, and I'm joined today by the columnist Tom Friedman.

Hi, Tom.

Hey, Steve.

You're joining us early on Monday morning because of the violence in Minneapolis over the weekend.

On Saturday, Customs and Border Protection agents shot and killed an ICU nurse and a protester named Alex Preddy just a couple of weeks after ICE killed Renee Good in the same city.

Over the weekend, you published a column comparing Minneapolis to Gaza.

But I want to start with Minneapolis, where you grew up.

What has it been like watching all of this unfold in your hometown?

Now, let's talk about that column, because you brought an interesting angle to it.

You compare Minneapolis to recent events in Gaza, where Israeli forces recently killed three Palestinian journalists, and a couple months ago, Hamas executed Palestinian rivals.

What parallels do you see as someone who has covered the Middle East for so long, and of course, someone who hails from Minneapolis and has that personal connection?

And you get even more specific than that.

You point out that the Republican Party is facing midterm elections this year and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also likely facing an election this year.

What do you think in that context they're trying to achieve?

So on the politics for a minute, the recent Times-Siena poll finds that a majority of Americans strongly disapprove of the way ICE is doing its job.

Just last night, the Wall Street Journal reported that some Trump advisors are worried about polls like these and about the escalation in Minneapolis.

There have been some rumblings in Congress, certainly among Democrats and among even some Republicans about

Yet the president has so far persisted.

And I say so far because he told the journal that ICE would leave Minneapolis eventually, which is sort of possibly a prelude to a back down.

We're not sure.