The second Trump administration entered office with a theory. President Donald Trump, backed by policy architect Stephen Miller, believed that in a battle of political imagery between camouflaged he-men against leftist protesters, their guys would always win. Law and order would defeat chaos. Those trying to deport immigrants would defeat those trying to protect them.

In Minnesota, that theory didn’t just hit its limit, it exceeded it. Now Trump and his team are scrambling to cushion their fall as public opinion has turned on them.

The reaction of elected Republican officials, up to and including Trump, following the Border Patrol killing of Alex Pretti over the weekend has been markedly different from that following the killing of Renee Good, or any other scandalous episode involving immigration enforcement officials thus far. A broad swath of Republican members of Congress have joined Democrats in calling for an investigation into Pretti’s killing. Trump has removed Border Patrol wannabe-action-star Greg Bovino from his role leading the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears to be—at best—in administrative time-out. Trump has taken a suddenly conciliatory tone with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey after weeks of treating them as useful left-wing foils.

It’s important not to overstate what’s happening. The administration isn’t suddenly coming out in support of open borders and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and on Tuesday, ICE continued operations in and around Minneapolis.

But all signals sure point to Trump wanting to get the hell out of Minnesota—or at least take pains to change the way the public sees the issue.

For the first time, the administration has taken its foot off the gas in its steroidal deportation agenda. After months of ramping up its interventions into blue cities starting last summer and marketing them with an almost trollish devotion meant to please the base, the antics devolved into killings, unaccountability, and lies about what people are seeing with their own eyes. With this devolution has come a turn in public opinion, with Trump’s numbers on his once best issue—immigration—tanking. The party finally found a level of public disapproval it couldn’t tolerate, and midterms are coming closer than you think.