Despite a political style of doubling down, no matter the circumstances, President Donald Trump and the White House have taken an obviously softer tone in the aftermath of the fatal ICE shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he had a “very good call” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whom he has attacked repeatedly in recent months.
“We, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
More than an hour later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America’s streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals.”
The Trump spokesperson said Pretti’s shooting death “remains under active investigation” by Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and Customs and Border Protection.
“As President Trump said yesterday, the administration is reviewing everything with respect to the shooting, and we will let that investigation play out,” said Leavitt.
The remarks from the White House are a remarkably different tone than the one taken after Good’s Jan. 7 shooting, in which administration officials were quick to blame the 37-year-old wife and mother, accusing her of trying to “weaponize” her vehicle to harm ICE agents despite no investigation being fully conducted.
Video footage of Pretti’s shooting, just two weeks after Good’s death, disputed the false claims by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller that Pretti, an ICU nurse for veterans, was an “assassin” who approached federal agents “brandishing” a firearm, “wishing to inflict harm.”
The political tide may be shifting for the Trump administration amid the uproar in Minnesota and across the country, including from some Republican lawmakers who rarely publicly criticize the White House. According to CNN, top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who is leading the government’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, is expected to leave Minneapolis with some of his agents on Tuesday.
On Monday, Press Secretary Leavitt also distanced Trump from Secretary Noem and Miller.
“This has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation throughout the weekend. As for President Trump, whom I speak for, he has said that he wants to let the investigation continue and let the facts lead in this case,” said the Trump official.
