Donald Trump has refused to back Kristi Noem’s claim that the shooting of nurse Alex Pretti was justified, as DHS officials reportedly turn on the Homeland Security secretary.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump, 79, repeatedly declined to say whether the Border Patrol agent who killed Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday had “done the right thing.”
Instead, he said his administration was “reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”
The president’s caution is in stark contrast to Noem’s hardline rhetoric.
In a press conference in the hours after Pretti’s death, Noem, 54—nicknamed ICE Barbie for her love of cosplaying on immigration operations—claimed Pretti, who had a concealed-carry gun permit, turned up “with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation” and had committed “an act of domestic terrorism.”
This was despite multiple videos appearing to contradict her version of events.
The administration’s divided response is also markedly different from its reaction to the death of Renne Nicole Good three weeks ago.
After Good, 37, was shot dead by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, 43, during a Jan. 7 immigration protest, the administration was quick to unite in branding her a “domestic terrorist.”
Internal dissent over the Pretti narrative is reportedly boiling over. Fox News’ reporter Bill Melugin said he had spoken to more than half a dozen federal immigration officials who saw DHS’s messaging as “a case study on how not to do crisis PR” and accused the department’s leaders of rushing out talk of a planned “massacre” and “maximum damage” despite videos undercutting those claims.
Melugin, the network’s main congressional correspondent, posted on X: “One said they are so ‘fed up’ that they wish they could retire, another said ‘DHS is making the situation worse,’ and another added that ‘DHS is wrong’ and ‘we are losing this war, we are losing the base and the narrative.’”
He added that the approach had “been catastrophic from a PR and morale perspective, as it is eroding trust and credibility.”
According to CNN, multiple DHS insiders were “furious” after watching bystander footage of the shooting, saying Noem’s public statements no longer match what Americans can see themselves. One official told the network: “The department needs a law enforcement leader, not a sicko fan.”
In the Journal interview, Trump stressed that he “doesn’t like any shooting” but fixated on the fact that Pretti arrived at the protest with what he called a “very powerful, fully loaded gun” and spare magazines.
While this is true, multiple bystander videos appear to show an officer already holding Pretti’s handgun a split second before another agent fires several rounds, contradicting Noem and DHS’s initial claim that Pretti was “violently” resisting disarmament.
Inside the White House, aides are reportedly concerned that the Minneapolis crackdown has become a political liability, with internal discussions focused on how to keep deportations going while avoiding fresh clashes with protesters.
Trump said in the Journal interview that immigration agents would “at some point” withdraw from Minneapolis, while hinting a different federal team would stay behind to chase what he again described as a huge welfare-fraud scandal.
Hardline Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is said to be urging Trump not to back down, the outlet reported.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and White House for comment.
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