President Donald Trump said Friday he still supports U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar in her re-election campaign, but disagrees with her opposition to his aggressive immigration policy.
“I’m very strong on the borders — and she isn't,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after being asked about Salazar's campaign ad video condemning and torching his deportation agenda.
In the blistering campaign video ad, Salazar blasts Trump's depoortation agenda, noting that more than half of those arrested by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents have no criminal records.
A Message to President Trump on Immigration | María Elvira Salazar pic.twitter.com/memcf4jags
— María Elvira Salazar 🇺🇸 (@MaElviraSalazar) September 17, 2026
"Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far," she says staring directly into a camera while standing in front of the White House.
"Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today," she tells Trump.
"She obviously doesn’t have a very strong feeling about the border. I do," Trump said.
Asked if he still supports Salazar and had seen the video, Trump said, “I do and I have.”
Trump also claimed Salazar won her seat because of his endorsement. She was first elected in 2020 when she defeated Democratic incumbent Donna Shalala.
Salazar's ad is running online and on TV in South Florida in Spanish and in English.
The bilingual ad was released with less than two months before the Nov. 3 election.
READ MORE: Former CBS-4 anchor Eliott Rodriguez cites deep local roots in bid to win seat in Congress
Salazar, who is seeking her fourth two-year term in Congress, finds herself in a competitive race against former CBS4 anchorman Eliott Rodriguez, the Democratic nominee for Florida’s 27th congressional district.
The non-partisan Cook Political Report has shifted the seat from "safe Republican" to a “likely Republican” seat, meaning the race has become more competitive.
"Though Salazar has a history of overperforming the top of the ticket, Trump’s sinking approval rating among Hispanic voters in South Florida will be an anchor on the congresswoman," writes the Cook Political Report.
The 27th congressional district includes Miami, Coral Gables, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. Almost three in four residents are Latino.
In a fundraising email sent Friday to supporters, Rodriguez slammed Salazar for trying "to distance herself from Donald Trump's policy of cruelty toward immigrants."
"I don’t believe her for a second," Rodriguez said. "This is the same Maria Elvira Salazar who called for Donald Trump to create a 'deportation army.' Who voted to send over $75 billion to ICE? Who recorded her ad in front of the White House only one day after she attended Trump’s special Rose Garden benefits party for vulnerable House Republicans?"
Salazar "owns all of these deportations, ICE harassment and racial profiling. She voted for all this. She gave Trump the money and the tools to do this."
Salazar's controversial campaign ad has drawn national media attention, including CNN, CBS News, The New York Times, POLITICO and The Washington Post.
