“Barack Obama deported more than 3 million people from this country while he was president. No masked gangs descending on neighborhoods…”
That’s former ABC News correspondent Terry Moran, suggesting Obama had the blueprint for peaceful deportations while Trump is running “masked gangs.”
Vice President JD Vance wasn’t having it.
“In the Obama administration, they counted being turned away at the border as a deportation. A person would show up, be sent back, and counted as a deportation.”
The “Deporter in Chief” myth just met reality.
The Numbers Were Always Fake
This is an important point that media consistently ignores.
Obama’s deportation statistics were inflated by counting “returns” — people stopped at the border and turned around — as deportations. Previous administrations didn’t count them that way.
Interior deportations — actually removing people living in the country — were lower under Obama than his predecessors.
Trump has to do interior enforcement because Biden and Harris let millions walk into the country. They’re not at the border anymore. They’re in Minneapolis and Chicago and New York.
You can’t “turn away at the border” someone who’s been living in your city for three years.
Why Minneapolis Is Different
Vance explained why the scenes look chaotic in some places and not others.
“In the cities that are not sanctuary cities, the deportation process is orderly and normal — like most law enforcement. In Minneapolis and a few other sanctuary jurisdictions, local jurisdictions and a few leftwing agitators have decided to wage war on all immigration enforcement officers.”
The chaos isn’t coming from ICE. It’s coming from activists who’ve decided to physically interfere with enforcement operations.
In normal jurisdictions, immigration arrests look like any other law enforcement action. In sanctuary cities where protesters swarm agents and try to block vehicles, things get messy.
That’s not ICE’s fault. That’s the fault of people choosing to obstruct federal officers.
“They Are Hoping a Little Chaos Will Convince Us to Give Up”
Vance identified the strategy clearly.
Activists create chaos. Media films the chaos. Democrats blame the chaos on Trump. The public supposedly demands an end to enforcement.
“They are hoping that a little chaos will convince us to give up on immigration enforcement. They are wrong.”
The strategy worked in 2020 with “defund the police.” Democrats are trying to run the same play with “abolish ICE.”
Vance is signaling: we see what you’re doing, and we’re not stopping.
Terry Moran’s History
Vance added a pointed note about Moran’s credibility.
“Until he was fired for being a leftwing radical, Terry Moran was pretending to be an objective journalist on one of the major networks.”
Moran spent 28 years at ABC News before being pushed out last year. His crime? Social media posts attacking Trump and Stephen Miller.
He called Miller “a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” and “a world-class hater.” He said Miller’s “hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.”
That’s not journalism. That’s unhinged personal attack. ABC News fired him for it.
Now Moran is still posting political attacks, but without the veneer of objectivity. Vance is simply pointing out that his “journalism” was always advocacy in disguise.
The “Deporter in Chief” Mythology
Obama’s reputation as tough on deportation was always media spin.
The numbers were padded with border turnaways. Interior enforcement was deprioritized. Sanctuary cities flourished. DACA was created through executive action.
Obama deported people who were easy to deport — those caught at the border. He avoided the harder work of interior enforcement that Trump is now doing.
When Trump actually enforces immigration law in American cities, media acts shocked. They’ve forgotten what real enforcement looks like — or they never knew.
The Sanctuary City Choice
Here’s the fundamental point Vance is making:
Sanctuary cities chose this.
They chose to refuse cooperation with ICE. They chose to release criminals rather than honor detainers. They chose to train activists in “de-arrest” tactics. They chose to tell federal agents to “get the f**k out.”
Now federal agents have to conduct enforcement without local cooperation, in hostile environments, surrounded by protesters trying to interfere.
The chaos is a feature of sanctuary policy, not a bug. It’s designed to make enforcement look bad so voters demand it stop.
“This Is Just Force, Not Law”
Moran’s original complaint was that Trump’s enforcement is “just force, not law.”
But what law is being violated?
ICE is arresting people with outstanding deportation orders. They’re targeting criminals. They’re enforcing statutes passed by Congress.
The “force” is necessary because activists have decided to physically obstruct lawful enforcement. When people block your vehicles, swarm your officers, and try to run you over with cars, force becomes required.
That’s not lawlessness. That’s law enforcement responding to unlawful interference.
Vance’s Media Strategy
The Vice President is increasingly willing to directly confront media figures.
He’s called coverage of the Minneapolis shooting “disgusting” and accused outlets of “lying.” Now he’s publicly labeling Moran a “leftwing radical” who was “pretending to be an objective journalist.”
It’s a departure from the traditional Republican approach of complaining about media bias while still treating journalists as legitimate interlocutors.
Vance is treating hostile journalists as political opponents — because that’s what they are.
The Real Comparison
If you want to compare Obama and Trump on deportations:
Obama: inflated numbers through border turnaways, deprioritized interior enforcement, created DACA, fostered sanctuary cities.
Trump: actual interior enforcement, targeting criminals and those with deportation orders, cutting funding to sanctuary jurisdictions, achieving net negative migration for the first time in 50 years.
One president talked tough while gaming statistics. The other is actually deporting people.
That’s the comparison Moran doesn’t want anyone to make.
“They Are Wrong”
Vance ended with a simple declaration.
Activists think chaos will stop enforcement. “They are wrong.”
The deportations will continue. The investigations will proceed. The sanctuary cities will lose funding.
The Trump administration isn’t going to be bullied by protesters, activists, or former ABC journalists posting from their couches.
Terry Moran had 28 years to shape public opinion from inside a major network. He got fired. Now he’s just another voice on social media, trying to influence policy with misleading arguments.
Vance swatted him down in about 200 words.
That’s the new reality. Media figures who spent decades unaccountable are finally getting pushback.
And they don’t like it one bit.