The last few days have been pretty bad for the administration on the immigration front.
Trump officials went uber-aggressive in setting the narrative about Alex Pretti, the man who was shot and killed by immigration agents after an altercation in Minnesota.
Trump is now backing off his aggressive narrative, hoping to diffuse this before it takes down the entire party.
As we noted in another report, nobody was more aggressive in pushing a narrative here than top adviser Stephen Miller.
He went so far as to call Pretti an “assassin,” while other officials characterized him as a domestic terrorist who was there to inflict maximum carnage on agents.
Vice President JD Vance said the shooting was a product of “engineered chaos,” stating, “This level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis. It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities.”
I agree with him and have been saying all along that this is what Democrats wanted, but you still have to be careful how this is framed when the entire mainstream media is pushing Democrat talking points.
Trump initially came out just as hard as everyone else, but someone clearly got into his ear, as he is not pushing a different narrative.
Trump first noted how immigration efforts in red states have gone over without a single protest, then added, "And they are actually encouraging Leftwing Agitators to unlawfully obstruct their operations to arrest the Worst of the Worst People! By doing this, Democrats are putting Illegal Alien Criminals over Taxpaying, Law-Abiding Citizens, and they have created dangerous circumstances for EVERYONE involved. Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos.”
He continued, "That is why I am hereby calling on Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, and EVERY Democrat Governor and Mayor in the United States of America to formally cooperate with the Trump Administration to enforce our Nation’s Laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of Division, Chaos, and Violence.”
That is about as much of an olive branch as they are going to get from Trump, but what will he do if they won’t cooperate?
Trump has spoken with local officials, and he and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were complimentary of each other after the call, with Frey stating that “lots of progress is being made.”
Frey further noted that both he and Trump agreed that the current situation cannot continue. Trump is also reportedly sending border czar Tom Homan in to take over Minnesota operations, as he is far less confrontational than Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino.
The question now becomes whether Democrats can do this with grace or decide to make this into a political win. If they go that route, it will only make Trump dig in further.
The moment Democrats say they made Trump buckle, it will be the end of whatever deal they have worked out. We are about to find out if Democrats truly want to make this about the people or politics. If they start touting a big win and making Trump cave, well, then we know they are using people as pawns.
