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TRANSCRIPT
“This is an inflection point, America. If we cannot all agree that the smearing of an American citizen and besmirching everything they stood for and asking us not to believe what we saw. I don't know what else to tell you. This has to be the moment your government – here in Minnesota I've made it clear, I'm accountable for things that happen here and I will take responsibility for that. Someone has to be accountable. Someone has to hold the final decision on this.”
As the Democratic Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, sought accountability for the second killing of a US citizen protesting ICE this month, the White House sought to redirect it.
In the hours after ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota, the Trump administration was quick to insinuate that Pretti was to blame.
The White House called him a "domestic terrorist", claiming he had violent intentions and posed a serious threat to law enforcement.
Now, after footage contradicting that narrative went viral, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shifted tune, instead implying that Democratic politicians are the ones to blame.
"This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota. For weeks, (Minnesota) Governor (Tim) Walz and the Mayor (Minneapolis) Jacob Frey and other elected Democrats were spreading lies about federal law enforcement officers who are risking their lives daily to remove the worst criminal illegal aliens from our streets."
Prompting street protests and drawing widespread condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans, the White House went into damage control.
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino suggested the rhetoric around law enforcement was to blame for the shootings.
"Let's look at why he was there in the first place. Was he simply walking by and just happened to walk into a law enforcement situation and try to direct traffic and stand in the middle of the road and then assault, delay, and obstruct law enforcement, or was he there for a reason? Did he fall victim to that violent and heated rhetoric by a Mayor Fry, a Governor Waltz, look, Dana, they're trying to portray border patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi, and many other words, did this individual fall victim, as many others have, to that type of heated rhetoric."
Recent Reuters polling indicates that many Trump supporters, 39 per cent, have expressed caution over the heavy handed approach, saying harm should be minimised even if there are fewer immigration arrests.
According to the same poll, about nine-in-10 Democrats said the agents had gone too far, compared to two-in-10 Republicans and six-in-10 independents.
Stunning the party, Republican Chris Madel even dropped out of the running for Minnesota's upcoming governor race, saying he could not remain a member of a party inflicting "retribution on the citizens of our state."
"ICE has authorized its agents to raid homes using a civil warrant that need only be signed by a border patrol agent. That's unconstitutional, and it's wrong. Weaponizing criminal investigations against political opponents is unconstitutional regardless of who is in power. "
U-S President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that his administration was "reviewing everything" about the shooting and says ICE will eventually withdraw from the city, without specifying when.
Striking a more conciliatory tone on Monday, Mr Trump says he had a "very good" talk with Governor Walz after the attack.
Announcing that he'll send his top border enforcer Tom Homan to Minneapolis, the White House appears to be acknowledging the political damage that ICE is causing.
Praising the border czar, Karoline Leavitt says Mr Homan will be the point person between authorities.
"I would just point out that Mr. Homan is someone who has been lauded for many, many decades for his experience working in law enforcement. In fact, this is a Washington Post headline from nine years ago, 2016: 'Meet the man the White House has honoured for deporting illegal immigrants.' And I would remind everyone in this room that it was former President Barack Hussein Obama who awarded a medal to Mr. Homan."
As well as political pushback, sixty of Minnesota's largest businesses, including Target and UnitedHealth, called for an immediate de-escalation of tensions between the state and federal authorities.
With more protests expected throughout Minneapolis and beyond, Governor Tim Walz has urged Americans to consider where they stand on the issue.
“To Americans who are watching this right now, and I don't know, maybe you're watching it with curiosity, bewilderment, horror, scorn, or sympathy – I've got a question for all of you, what side do you wanna be on? The side of an all-powerful federal government that can kill, injure, menace and kidnap its citizens off the streets, or on the side of a nurse at the VA hospital, who died bearing witness to such government, or the side a mother whose last words were, ‘I'm not mad at you’?”
