Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland went on NBC's Meet the Press this weekend and told host Kristen Welker he's been "kicking the tires" on a 2028 presidential run. This is the same Chris Van Hollen who made it his personal crusade to spring alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia from custody — even flying to El Salvador to have margaritas with him.
Apparently "freed a gang suspect" is now a resume builder on Democrats presidential résumé.
Van Hollen didn't exactly play coy about his ambitions. "I've been kicking the tires as I look at 2028 because I don't think the Democratic Party has answered the call," he told Welker. He confirmed he's already made trips to New Hampshire and Iowa — the traditional launching pads for White House hopefuls. "I'm kicking the tires. Meaning I've been to New Hampshire. I was invited to go there."
So the pitch is straightforward: a senator whose signature national moment was advocating to bring back a MS-13 gang member who beat his wife now believes he's the man to lead the free world. Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador — not to highlight the gang violence devastating Central American communities, but to pressure the administration over Abrego-Garcia's detention. That's the hill he chose. And now he wants to plant a campaign flag on top of it.
Van Hollen also signaled openness to the Democratic Socialists of America gaining influence in the party. When Welker asked him directly whether democratic socialists have a place in the Democratic Party, Van Hollen answered: "They do, as part of the debate. I am not afraid to debate." This as 3 DSA-backed leftists have already ousted sitting Democratic representatives, and candidates like socialist Zohran Mamdani won New York City's mayoral primary while Abdul El-Sayed, a self-described democratic socialist, secured the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan.
"Bottom line, I think Democrats need to be very clear not just what we're against, but what we're for," Van Hollen added. Which is a fascinating statement from a man whose most visible national stand was being for letting an accused gang member out of custody. That's the "for" he went with.
The political positioning here isn't complicated. Van Hollen is looking at a Democratic primary electorate that rewarded candidates who fought hardest against Trump's immigration enforcement, and he's decided his Abrego Garcia crusade is a feature, not a bug. He's banking on the same activist energy that elevated Mamdani in New York and El-Sayed in Michigan — voters who see immigration enforcement itself as the problem.
The rest of the country watched a sitting United States senator fly to a foreign nation to advocate for a man accused of belonging to one of the most violent gangs in the Western Hemisphere. They didn't see a principled stand. They saw a politician who'd rather side with MS-13 than with ICE.
Van Hollen says the Democratic Party hasn't "answered the call." He's right about that — just not in the way he thinks. The call was for border security, deportation of violent offenders, and a party that takes public safety seriously. His answer was a plane ticket to San Salvador and a spot on Meet the Press.
