# Trump punishes Salazar for breaking ranks

> As Trump's approval falls before midterms, most Republicans quietly distance themselves. One Florida congresswoman paid a price for doing it on camera.
- Title: Trump punishes Salazar for breaking ranks · NBC News
- Summary: As Trump's approval falls before midterms, most Republicans quietly distance themselves. One Florida congresswoman paid a price for doing it on camera. Rep…
- Keywords: donald trump, maría elvira salazar, republicans, 2026 midterms, immigration, approval ratings, marine le pen, russia, far-right parties, politics, news, Trump
- Source: NBC News — https://nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-break-trump-one-gets-brushback-politics-desk-rcna600385
- Author: The Politics Desk
- Published: 2026-09-28T23:30:55.74+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: donald trump, maría elvira salazar, republicans, 2026 midterms, immigration, approval ratings, marine le pen, russia, far-right parties, politics, news
## Trump's approval craters before midterms
President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to thirty-nine percent, down from fifty percent when his second term began. Latino voters disapprove of him two to one.
## Republicans quietly distance themselves
With midterms five weeks away, Republican candidates have scrubbed Trump from websites, voted against his Iran war, and criticized his policies on gas prices.
## Salazar breaks ranks on camera
Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a three-term Florida Republican, ran a straight-to-camera ad outside the White House condemning Trump's immigration enforcement efforts.
## Salazar's district is seventy-four percent Hispanic
Salazar won her last two elections by double digits and Trump carried her Miami-area district in twenty twenty-four. But Trump's Latino support has collapsed since then.
## Salazar's direct message to Trump
In the ad, Salazar points at the camera and says: "Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far."

> Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far.
## Trump retaliates on Truth Social
Over the weekend, Trump reposted more than a dozen social media posts slamming Salazar, calling her pro-amnesty, a backstabber, and demanding he remove his endorsement.

> She is nothing but a back stabber.
## The line between acceptable and forbidden
Trump downplayed distancing by Byron Donalds and Iowa representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson. Salazar's public TV confrontation crossed the line.
## Trump rewards Iowa allies at the White House
On Monday, Trump hosted Miller-Meeks and Hinson in the Oval Office to announce a fifteen billion dollar steel plant in Iowa, signalling forgiveness.
## Europe's far right faces Kremlin scrutiny
As far-right parties rise across Europe, they face questions about past ties to Russia and how they might approach Moscow. Marine Le Pen recently condemned Russian intimidation.
## Le Pen's pivot from Putin admiration
Le Pen, who once admired Vladimir Putin and received a nine point four million euro loan from a Russian bank, now says she will never tolerate Russian pressure on France.
## Warning shot to Republicans
Salazar's public rebuke serves as a warning to other Republicans: cross Trump on camera and face his base's wrath. The cost of dissent is now clear.
## Key takeaway

Rep. María Elvira Salazar faced Trump's public wrath after running an ad criticizing his immigration agenda, signalling to other Republicans the cost of open dissent.