Independent Voters Are Turning on ICE

Protesters
The political chain reaction sparked by these clips—which have been followed by protests and defiant Democratic governors and mayors, which in turn have been followed by Trump’s threats to send the National Guard into various cities—has fed an endless loop of video and commentary magnifying the fight. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Peter Hamby
October 21, 2025

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As a founding member of the Twitter isn’t real life crowd—annoyingly, I’ve been wagging my finger about the topic going back to 2012—one of my top obsessions is figuring out what stories actually do resonate with normies who don’t make politics their entire personality. I’ll admit it: Like a lot of political journalists, I sometimes make assumptions concerning what the electorate cares about without having the data to back it up. Which is why it’s a treat that Puck has partnered with people who do: Echelon Insights. In their monthly surveys, Echelon scratches a bit deeper than most polls to figure out what voters are really hearing and seeing in their feed and on their screen, where they’re getting their news, and how they feel about it.