US Politics
Trump says Renee Good and Alex Pretti were ‘no angels’ but admits ‘We’re not good at public relations’
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Donald Trump said that Renee Goodand Alex Pretti, both of whom were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, were “no angels,” in a sweeping new interview with NBC News.
The president did make a concession about his own administration’s handling of the crisis, admitting, “ I don’t think we’re good at public relations.”
His claims come after weeks of protests in Minneapolis, as ICE agents continue to surge through the city as part of the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Both Good and Pretti were killed while peacefully protesting that same crackdown, but Trump seemingly changed course on his administration’s position that the shootings were justified.
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When asked on NBC Nightly News if their shootings were warranted, Trump replied bluntly, “No.”
“It should not have happened,” he continued. “It was a very sad incident, two incidents.”
His administration had long justified Good and Pretti’s killings by saying the former was engaged in “domestic terrorism” and that the latter had “brandished” a gun.
But Trump did not make a complete U-turn on that position, as he told Tom Llamas that he continued to support ICE’s activities in the city.
“He was not an angel, and she was not an angel,” Trump said. “Still, I’m not happy with what happened there. Nobody can be happy, and ICE wasn’t happy either.”
“But I’m always going to be with our great people of law enforcement,” he continued. “We have to back them. If we don’t back them, we don’t have a country.”
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Trump went on to tell Llamas that he believes much of the backlash to his brutal ICE crackdown was because his administration mismanaged its public relations strategy, and not because of their activities.
“What happens is that, I think we do a phenomenal job, but I don’t think we’re good at public relations,” he admitted, before later conceding that his administration could use a “softer touch” when it comes to immigration policy.
Amid the fallout from Good and Pretti’s deaths, border czar Tom Homan confirmed yesterday that ICE will be partially withdrawing from Minneapolis.
At least 700 federal agents will leave the city, bringing the total number of operatives in Minneapolis to around 2000.
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The situation in Minneapolis has seen a dramatic fall in the number of Americans continuing to support ICE.
A YouGov poll finds the number of Americans who support abolishing the federal agency has surged to 46 percent, narrowly exceeding the 41 percent who continue to support it.
That is a huge about-turn from June 2024, when a CBS/YouGov poll found that 62 percent of Americans supported deporting all undocumented immigrants.
