Leftist extremists were trying to kill agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the liberal media and liberal politicians were pretending like it wasn’t happening. That was one the points NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo made on his eponymous show Friday night, when he directly called out Democratic Party leaders by name and demanded the media to do more to condemn the attempts to harm ICE agents.
While decrying how the immigration debate was “dominated by divisive, extreme, fringe movements” on both sides, Cuomo called out the leftist extremists who were trying to kill people. “[The left are] trying to hurt ICE officers. They're trying to shoot ICE agents. These are extremists in our ranks,” he warned.
“We need leaders and really the leaders in our media to get back to focusing on what the majority needs and wants. And rest assured the majority in America is reasonable,” Cuomo said. Citing a Pew poll, he argued that 32 percent said all illegals needed to be deported and a smaller 16 percent wanted no one deported, which he described as “the AOC cuckoo crowd.”
Adding: “So, we don't believe in the main that everyone should be deported or no one should be deported. We are reasonable. The fringes however dominate social media but not society.”
Cuomo went on to denounce “these people on the far-left-fringe” who want “to hurt the ICE officers” and only wanted them unmasked for that they could target their families too, and compared them 60s extremists groups like the Black Panthers:
But I got to tell you something. I'm criticizing the ICE practices, right, and the policy. But I will never think that this is okay. That these people on the far-left fringe come and they want to hurt the ICE officers. You want to get their faces and get their identity so you can dox them and intimidate their family. You are silent or tacitly accepting the need for violence to change ICE’s policies.
Seriously? You really think that makes you better? Find Dr. King saying that. Find any of the people who fought the real fight in this country for suffrage in the 60's what worked and what didn’t. You sound like people who backed the Black Panthers, not the move for justice for blacks in this country. But this is where we are. This is crazy.
He went on to warn that if the left’s penchant for violence became normalized that it could spell the end of America:
Who thinks that shooting at the ICE agents is okay because you hate what they're doing and they're hurting people and communities? Because I got to tell you, if we get anywhere near a majority thinking, ‘yeah, I think that's what they should do,’ this is not America anymore. The democracy is dead. It's over. It’s over. If you believe that injustice is the answer to injustice, it’s over. It’s over.
Taking a shot at their egos, mocked the “educated and privileged” liberal “punks online” who “just type in to me about why these are heroes on the street.” “[W]hy don’t you get your asses out in the street if you’re so hard, if you believe it so much,” he told them.
“That's why it bothers me that the leaders on the left are quiet about this, and the media is too,” he declared. “AOC, Bernie, Jeffries, you want to lead speak up now and about this. And don't do it this way like Governor Newsom saying the attacks on the ICE agents are wrong, BUT so was January 6. Really?”
He even mocked Newsom’s false bravado, saying, “You think this makes you a leader because you're like stiffening your spine? Come on, man.”
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
NewsNation’s Cuomo
July 11, 2025
8:01:05 p.m. Eastern(…)
CHRIS CUOMO: We are dominated by divisive, extreme, fringe movements. And the conflict is growing. Why? Because it works for the two sides. It is a media and a political culture choosing to make the few dictate the fate of the many.
That's why we see ICE agents running around communities casting a way wider net than just bad hombres. And the reaction by the fringe against them on the left, right? Because the right on the extreme fringe, it's very pro-hostile policing. Right? The other side. Is now, not just protesting, which is their right. But they're trying to hurt ICE officers. They're trying to shoot ICE agents. These are extremists in our ranks. We need leaders and really the leaders in our media to get back to focusing on what the majority needs and wants.
And rest assured the majority in America is reasonable. For instance, immigration. Right? Huge conflictual will issue. Or is it? Most Americans believe there has to be a balance of securing the border and welcoming immigrants. The majority tilt in favor of mercy in that balance. Not straight MAGA harshness. Only 32 percent say all illegal entrance should be deported.
Now, that will be painted by the fringe as what? Open borders, open borders! It's not open borders. Only 70 percent believe – Over, over 70 percent of us believe the border should be policed and the law should be enforced. Nowhere near a majority want anything like open borders. That is only for the AOC cuckoo crowd; 16 percent say no one should be deported. Okay?
So, we don't believe in the main that everyone should be deported or no one should be deported. We are reasonable. The fringes however dominate social media but not society.
(…)
8:06:30 p.m. Eastern
But I got to tell you something. I'm criticizing the ICE practices, right, and the policy. But I will never think that this is okay. That these people on the far-left fringe come and they want to hurt the ICE officers. You want to get their faces and get their identity so you can dox them and intimidate their family. You are silent or tacitly accepting the need for violence to change ICE’s policies.
Seriously? You really think that makes you better? Find Dr. King saying that. Find any of the people who fought the real fight in this country for suffrage in the 60's what worked and what didn’t. You sound like people who backed the Black Panthers, not the move for justice for blacks in this country. But this is where we are. This is crazy.
So, here's my next point. The reason that we're seeing, okay, is that the extreme is working too well for the media cycle in the political cycle. So, working too well. And we see this and now that it's a constant obsession for everybody in politics, no matter what the party is. Right?
So, you can't – You know, we have to agree on certain things. Who thinks that shooting at the ICE agents is okay because you hate what they're doing and they're hurting people and communities? Because I got to tell you, if we get anywhere near a majority thinking, ‘yeah, I think that's what they should do,’ this is not America anymore. The democracy is dead. It's over. It’s over. If you believe that injustice is the answer to injustice, it’s over. It’s over.
(…)
8:08:45 p.m. Eastern
CUOMO: And these punks online. So many of them educated and privileged, who are okay with this. That the part I don't get; why don’t you get your asses out in the street if you’re so hard, if you believe it so much. Instead of just type in to me about why these are heroes on the street. That's why it bothers me that the leaders on the left are quiet about this, and the media is too.
AOC, Bernie, Jeffries, you want to lead speak up now and about this. And don't do it this way like Governor Newsom saying the attacks on the ICE agents are wrong, BUT so was January 6. Really? Where does this battle of which side is worse create a winner for the majority? You think this makes you a leader because you're like stiffening your spine? Come on, man.
(…)
