It’s Thursday, January 29. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Why fear is now just part of the job for politicians. Patrick McGee on Elon Musk’s broken robotaxi promise. Colin Quinn on the funniest novel of all time. And more.

But first: Has Alex Pretti’s killing changed the politics of immigration?

Despite earlier signs of de-escalation, the standoff between Minneapolis officials and the White House continues today with no end in sight.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump warned that Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey is “playing with fire” if he continues to refuse to use local police to enforce immigration laws. That followed a meeting between Frey and border czar Tom Homan, Trump’s new point man in Minneapolis, who was sent there after the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti enraged a city already on the brink of full-fledged civil unrest.

Today, we zoom out to bring you four stories about how the turmoil in Minneapolis has shifted the politics of immigration—and what comes next.

We begin with a piece from Ruy Teixeira on how Trump overplayed his hand on immigration. The president has staged a masterclass in how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, argues Ruy. And now, the Democrats are poised to win a shutdown fight in Washington over ICE funding. Read Ruy on the fast-moving changes to the immigration landscape:

Up next: Mike Pence. Writing in The Free Press today, Trump’s estranged former vice president decries both the Democratic leaders of Minnesota and Trump’s own cabinet for creating such a combustible situation: “The situation in Minnesota is a warning,” he writes. “The American people are watching, and they are right to expect better.” Read his full op-ed:

Third: Madeleine Rowley looks at the numbers behind the noise to determine whether “Operation Metro Surge”—the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis launched by the administration last month—is actually achieving Trump’s goals.

And finally, we return to a report from on the ground in Minneapolis. Olivia Reingold and Austyn Jeffs talk to gun owners in Minneapolis about a question that has dominated the conversation in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti: Should he have been carrying a gun to the protest that day? From gun ranges in the Twin Cities, they report on how Pretti’s death has scrambled views on the Second Amendment.

—The Editors

Fear Is Now Just Part of the Job for Politicians

Tanner Nau

On Tuesday, a man charged Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall and sprayed her with a foul-smelling substance. Though Omar is safe, the attack follows a three-year trend of rising attacks against members of Congress. Tanner Nau reports on the decline of decorum, and how we can turn down the temperature. Read full story

Tesla’s Robotaxi Bait and Switch

Patrick McGee

Imagine a world where Tesla owners can send their self-driving vehicles to collect cab fares while they’re at work. Elon Musk says it’s possible—and that a Tesla robotaxi network will be active in the U.S. “by the end of this year.” But Tesla has indefinitely postponed the business model amid regulatory problems, and Musk doesn’t appear to have a plan for what’s next. A robotaxi utopia sounds great, writes Patrick McGee. But for now, it may be just another tech pipe dream. Read full story

Colin Quinn on Incels, Woke Activists, and Peaking at 14

Shilo Brooks

In the latest episode of Old School, legendary comic Colin Quinn dives into a classic that still makes him cry with laughter: John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces. The novel follows the misadventures of an overweight, pretentious misanthrope still living with his mother in 1960s New Orleans. It’s a book that turns fart jokes into high art. Listen to Quinn’s conversation with Shilo Brooks wherever you get your podcasts. Listen on