Trump drops attack mode as Minneapolis shooting backlash mounts

The Trump administration quickly abandoned its usual “deny and attack” strategy after initially using it when federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.

Within 24 hours, as various videos of the shooting circulated on the Internet, it became clear that the White House was out of step with public opinion.

Since then, the administration – and the president himself – have changed tactics, blaming Democrats for what happened and focusing less on the actions of the American nurse who was killed.

Democrats, meanwhile, have stepped up their criticism of the president’s mass deportation policy and the aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), moving toward a political fight that could culminate in another government shutdown on Friday.

On Monday morning, Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche called the situation a “tinderbox.” Although he blamed Democrats, many on both sides of the American political divide agree that the current situation is fraught with peril.

The administration’s initial response to Pretti’s death was simple. The 37-year-old was portrayed as a domestic terrorist bent on bloodshed.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti intended to “inflict harm” and was “brandishing” a weapon. U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said this “sounds like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Senior presidential adviser Stephen Miller called Pretti a “potential assassin.”

The White House has generally been quick to respond when criticized. “Deny and attack” has long been a core Trump strategy for handling adversity.

But perhaps tellingly, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to echo Miller’s comments Monday when asked whether the president agreed with his senior adviser. Instead, she said a thorough investigation would be conducted.

The tone was noticeably more subdued than that emitted immediately after the shooting.

That initial response echoed the path the administration took three weeks ago, when federal law enforcement fatally shot another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good. They said Good was a terrorist who “weaponized” her vehicle in an attempt to harm ICE agents.

As in Good’s case, the federal government’s version of events was disputed by local authorities, eyewitnesses and the victim’s family.

In a statement released Sunday, Pretti’s parents called for the truth to come out, adding, “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.”

Multiple videos from Saturday’s deadly encounter contradict many of the administration’s initial claims. The footage shows Pretti filming ICE agents with his cellphone and helping a woman who is being pushed around before both are pepper-sprayed. Pretti is clearly not holding a weapon when he is knocked to the ground.

DHS says Pretti possessed a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and two ammunition magazines. Local police said Pretti was a legal gun owner. Under Minnesota law, citizens can legally carry a concealed handgun in public, if they have a permit.

This time around, the administration’s initial response quickly became difficult to sustain.

“People are fed up,” said Brian O’Hara of the Minneapolis police, noting that his officers made hundreds of arrests of violent offenders last year without resorting to shooting. “It’s not sustainable.”

Republicans in Washington DC and elsewhere have expressed growing unease with the administration’s handling of the situation. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott called federal efforts in Minnesota “a complete failure in coordinating acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training and leadership” — at best.

At worst, he said, it was “deliberate intimidation and incitement by the federal government against American citizens.”

In Congress, some Republicans have expressed discomfort with the White House’s actions and called for renewed scrutiny.

Since Sunday evening, we have noticed a marked change in tone from the White House. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins offered his condolences to the Pretti family. The president posted a message on his Truth Social website calling the death “tragic” and attributing it to the “Democratic chaos that followed” — a message echoed by Vice President JD Vance.

On Monday morning, Trump announced he was sending “border czar” Tom Homan to Minnesota to lead enforcement efforts there. Homan, who handled evictions during Democrat Barack Obama’s administration, is seen as a more measured operator, more sensitive to politics, less prone to the kind of bombastic statements made recently by Noem and Bovino.

“Tom is tough but fair, and he will report directly to me,” Trump wrote.

While Homan’s assignment to Minneapolis does not necessarily reflect a policy shift — this administration has yet to show signs of backing down from its aggressive immigration policies — it could be a shift in presentation, as the president tries to deal with public sentiment that opinion polls show is worsening over the way his immigration crackdown is being carried out.

In a CBS survey conducted before the weekend shooting, 61% of respondents said ICE was “too harsh when it comes to arresting and detaining people,” while 58% disapproved of its handling of immigration overall.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, asked by BBC News about Homan’s involvement, said he could offer a new avenue for working with the administration.

“I don’t want to rule out the possibility that reasonable minds could prevail,” he added, “but we are here precisely because the federal government had unreasonable positions.”

Another potential thaw came when Trump announced Monday that he had spoken with Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

“It was a very good decision,” Trump wrote. “We actually seemed to be on the same page.”

It represents a marked cooling of what had been a series of heated exchanges between the two men in recent weeks — and could presage the kind of de-escalation in Minnesota that many politicians are calling for.

That may not be enough, however, for Democrats in Washington, who are under increasing pressure to take a clear line against the Trump administration’s rhetoric and policies.

Congressman Tom Suozzi said Monday he regrets voting in favor of a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that included money for immigration enforcement.

“I failed to view the DHS defunding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” he posted on X. “I hear the anger of my constituents and I take responsibility for it.”

Senate Democrats announced they would now block the funding measure in their chamber, triggering a partial government shutdown Friday evening.

“I am voting against any funding for DHS until more controls are put in place to hold ICE accountable,” said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii. “These repeated incidents of violence across the country are illegal, lead to unnecessary escalation and harm our security.”

Such an approach is, however, not without political risks. Democrats unleashed a record shutdown last fall over health care subsidies, but ultimately caved in with little effect.

A new government shutdown — which would not affect ICE funding but could hamper national emergency preparedness and other government functions — could produce similarly limited results. Democrats will also be careful not to go too far in the areas of immigration and public order, two subjects on which their polls are mediocre.

Currently, both Republicans and Democrats are wondering how to manage this now explosive situation. At issue is public perception of Trump’s immigration policies, a central policy issue for the president and one that helped him win back the White House.