Fox News host Brian Kilmeade delivered a stark warning to President Donald Trump this week, cautioning that his administration’s aggressive deportation tactics could cost Republicans the Hispanic vote that proved crucial in securing his election victory.
Speaking on “Fox and Friends” on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, Kilmeade told viewers that Trump’s standing with Hispanic voters is already showing signs of deterioration. “Some of them are misreading the aggressive tactics of ICE and taking it on the whole Hispanic community,” the host explained. “They feel as though they’ve been too broadly targeted. And that’s why the president’s numbers are coming down with Hispanics.”
The warning comes as the Trump administration conducts a nationwide deportation drive that has increasingly focused on Hispanic communities, the largest immigrant demographic in the United States. Critics of the administration’s approach have highlighted data showing that approximately 70 percent of those detained in recent ICE raids have no criminal record.
Kilmeade emphasized that the political stakes are particularly high with midterm elections scheduled for November. “Things aren’t going to go good for anybody’s mission on the Republican side if they lose the Hispanic vote or nullify, negate some of the gains that they’ve worked so hard to make,” he said during the “Fox and Friends” broadcast.
The host specifically called for a more targeted approach to immigration enforcement. Kilmeade stressed that policy should focus on criminals rather than casting a wide net across entire communities. He suggested that officials Tom Homan and Kristi Noem need to coordinate their efforts to develop a strategy that distinguishes between those who pose genuine threats and those who belong in the country.
The political implications extend beyond general approval ratings. In Miami, a heavily Hispanic area, Democrats appear positioned to potentially win an election for the first time in decades, a development that would have been unthinkable just months ago. Similar concerns have emerged in Texas, where Republican redistricting efforts had been predicated on the assumption of continued gains among Hispanic voters.
Kilmeade’s comments sparked immediate backlash from some Fox News viewers who took to social media to express their anger. The reaction highlighted a tension within the Republican base between those who support maximum enforcement of immigration laws and those concerned about the political consequences of appearing to target entire communities based on ethnicity.
The warning from a prominent conservative media figure represents a notable moment of public criticism directed at Trump from within his traditional support network. Hispanic voters played a pivotal role in several swing states during the most recent election, contributing significantly to Republican gains in areas previously considered Democratic strongholds. The potential erosion of that support presents a strategic challenge for a party that had celebrated making inroads with this demographic.
Immigration enforcement has remained a cornerstone of Trump’s political agenda, with administration officials regularly defending their tactics as necessary to maintain border security and public safety.
Kilmeade’s comments in early December came against the backdrop of other controversial statements the host has made recently. In September 2025, he was forced to apologize after suggesting that homeless mentally ill individuals should be killed, comments he later described as “extremely callous.” That incident followed discussion of the stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on a commuter train in Charlotte, North Carolina, and prompted widespread criticism, including a response from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who quoted a biblical verse about the poor.
The September incident occurred during a particularly tense period in American media following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah event in August 2025. MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd was subsequently fired for his remarks about the shooting on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, illustrating the charged atmosphere surrounding political commentary during that period.
As Republicans look toward the midterm elections, the challenge of maintaining Hispanic support while pursuing aggressive immigration enforcement represents a delicate balancing act. Whether Trump and his administration will heed Kilmeade’s warning and adjust their approach remains to be seen, but the early polling indicators suggest that the political landscape among Hispanic voters may be shifting in ways that could prove consequential for Republican electoral prospects.
