A turning point?
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Or (as I suspect) will Trump just dig in deeper?
A number of editorials are calling out the administration today and some republicans (governors, maybe a few senators) are calling for independent investigations.
It's probably a turning point, but the question is, which way will Trump take? He could get a lot worse, or he could back off. It's hard to imagine the latter.
WaPo:
The unjust killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse in Minneapolis, marks a turning point in President Donald Trump’s second term. His mass deportation campaign has been a moral and political failure, leaving American citizens feeling outraged and unsafe.
A Border Patrol officer killed Pretti on Saturday, and the Department of Homeland Security quickly claimed that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who wanted to “massacre” agents. Yet Pretti can be seen on tape holding his phone, not a gun, in his right hand, and his left hand is empty.
The outrageous refusal by the feds to allow local authorities to properly secure the crime scene or gather evidence further inflames tensions with state and city police. The lack of accountability for federal officers has undermined the administration’s claims that this is about law and order.
WSJ:
Stephen Miller’s mass deportation methods are turning immigration, an issue Mr. Trump owned in 2024, into a political liability for Republicans in 2026. Americans don’t want law enforcement shooting people in the street or arresting five-year-old boys. The Trump Administration spin on this simply isn’t believable.
Stephen Miller, the political architect of the mass deportation policy, called Pretti a “domestic terrorist.” He was a nurse without a criminal record. To hear the ardent gun-rights advocates of the Trump Administration claim he had malicious intentions because he carried a concealed weapon is bizarre.
It’s worth noting the comments over the weekend by police around the country who say that this isn’t how they conduct law enforcement. This is backfiring against Republicans. Ms. Noem and Mr. Miller aren’t credible spokesmen. Their social-media and cable-TV strategy is to own the libs, rather than to persuade Americans.
NYPost:
It’s time to de-escalate in Minneapolis, Mr. President. Not because you’re wrong to enforce immigration law, nor to go after fraudsters who’ve stolen billions in federal funds — but because these enforcement tactics won’t turn the tide, instead they are backfiring. Swing voters — Hispanics and independents who turned to you at the last election — see US citizens dying at federal agents’ hands, and recoil in horror.
The anti-ICE crew is getting exactly what it wants right now. People looking at a video on TikTok don’t get any of the context: All they’re seeing is a crowd of agents beating a guy onto the ground, with shots then ringing out and him ending up dead. Having Homeland Security double down now is all too likely to produce more such scenes. Nor is invoking the Insurrection Act going to fix things. Quite the contrary, it’ll backfire even worse.
Team Trump needs to cool things down, and let the American public see calm leadership. However noble the mission is to rid the country of the “worst of the worst,” the broad support for it is now ebbing fast. Mr. President, the American people didn’t vote for these scenes and you can’t continue to order them to not believe their lying eyes.
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Just heard on BBC News that Walz and Trump spoke today. Tom Homan is being sent to Minneapolis to try to ratchet down the tension. I'm guessing the orange guy is looking for an off ramp. Of course with him it's also about the last person he talked to, so if Stephen Miller gets his ear again we could be richocheting in another direction.
A turning point?
Gawd, I hope so.
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Just heard on BBC News that Walz and Trump spoke today. Tom Homan is being sent to Minneapolis to try to ratchet down the tension. I'm guessing the orange guy is looking for an off ramp. Of course with him it's also about the last person he talked to, so if Stephen Miller gets his ear again we could be richocheting in another direction.
A turning point?
Gawd, I hope so.
@wtg said in A turning point?:
Of course with him it's also about the last person he talked to, so if Stephen Miller gets his ear again we could be richocheting in another direction.
Keep our eyes on Maine. There was a brief altercation there over the weekend with ICE agents.
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Here's the spin.
Chair of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, R-Ky., suggested Sunday that Trump remove ICE from Minneapolis because local law enforcement aren't cooperating .
"If the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm's way, and there's a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide do we want to continue to have all of these illegals," Comer said on Fox News.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/25/g-s1-107288/senate-investigation-alex-pretti-killing
Remarkable.
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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Psy Op
No, it's not a conspiracy theory. No, I didn't make it up.
Link to videoObserve the regime's statements following the two murders.
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At least Bondi's attempted shakedown isn't going anywhere. That was heading for election interference and other shenanigans. But I don't expect her/them to stop here.
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Lots of other cities to terrorize. They will have an excuse - say the crime is down, or something - "mission accomplished" and move on to the next.
I wonder if the ICE employees have realized all of that facial recognition technology and license databases that they are using will be directed on them in the future?
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Here's the spin.
Chair of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, R-Ky., suggested Sunday that Trump remove ICE from Minneapolis because local law enforcement aren't cooperating .
"If the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm's way, and there's a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide do we want to continue to have all of these illegals," Comer said on Fox News.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/25/g-s1-107288/senate-investigation-alex-pretti-killing
Remarkable.
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Here's the spin.
Chair of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, R-Ky., suggested Sunday that Trump remove ICE from Minneapolis because local law enforcement aren't cooperating .
"If the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm's way, and there's a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide do we want to continue to have all of these illegals," Comer said on Fox News.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/25/g-s1-107288/senate-investigation-alex-pretti-killing
Remarkable.
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They're getting nervous. It's about time.
From Politico:
ICE Shootings Are Freaking Out the GOP. They’re Afraid to Tell Trump.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ice-shootings-freaking-gop-afraid-173000790.html
Monday morning, Trump took concrete steps to marginalize Noem and Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, who have become the face of the feds in Minnesota, appointing a new point person in the state and new chain of command.
“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight,” the president announced about his border czar. “He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”
Here comes the bus....
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Outspoken Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and some of his green-uniformed agents are expected to soon leave the Minneapolis area, three sources familiar with the move tell CBS News.
One of the sources said Bovino was relieved of his command in Minneapolis and is expected to return to California's El Centro sector, where he served as the chief agent before the Trump administration deployed him to major American cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-leave-minneapolis/
