President Donald Trump is usually never the first to admit his mistakes. But after his controversial handling of ICE agents in Minneapolis, it seems the president is changing up his plans in major ways. Now, all signs point to a shift in Trump’s policies following the death of yet another American citizen.
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Alex Pretti, an ICE nurse and anti-ICE protestor, was gunned down by federal agents Saturday (Jan 24). Unlike the killing of Renee Good just weeks prior, Pretti’s shooting has triggered widespread outage even from Republicans close to Trump. Now, Democrats are refusing to vote on ICE funding and growing tension in Minneapolis between protesters and federal agents are both forcing Trump to reevaluate his methods.
Trump spoke from the White House Tuesday afternoon, calling Pretti’s death “a very unfortunate incident” and promising an “honorable and honest investigation” into the shooting while still insisting that Pretti’s possession of a legal firearm on the scene was problematic. He also said that he will “de-escalate a bit” the presence of ICE in Minneapolis.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters , “This incident remains under investigation, and nobody at the White House, including the president of the United States, wants to see Americans hurt and killed or losing their lives in America’s streets.”
It’s a noticeable change in tone from the White House’s response to the Good shooting, which Trump maintains was an act of self-defense despite video footage that appears to show Good attempting to drive away from the scene instead of attempting to strike any ICE agents.
Following Pretti’s killing, Trump took phone calls with state Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey — a step which most didn’t see coming. For weeks, the two Democrats have crucified Trump’s ICE presence in Minnesota, leading to Walz even deploying the National Guard to defend against ICE. Now, it seems the three were able to come to some type of common ground, as Trump declared on Truth Social, “Lots of progress is being made.”
But what appears less debatable is that Pretti’s death has lit a fire under his administration.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has come under heavy criticism for her insistence that Pretti — who had a legally registered firearm when he was killed — came to the scene of his death to shoot and kill ICE agents. The rumored tension between Noem and the White House allegedly resulted in a Monday evening conversation between Noem and Trump, who publicly defended her Tuesday afternoon, according to The Guardian.
However, Trump administration is recalibrating his ground leadership in Minneapolis…including sending Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, who led the ICE effort in Minneapolis, away from the city to return to his post at the southern border, AP News reported. Bovino also made headlines earlier this week for his insistence that ICE agents were the real victims in the Pretti shooting.
Bovino has been replaced by Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” who will now assume command of the Minneapolis operation. It’s a move which one administration official called “intentional.” The anonymous official told POLITICO, “Tom needs to be in charge” in order to usher in a new wave of ICE control.
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