All of Trump's peace offerings to Minnesota after shooting backlash

The Trump administration spent the past 24 hours attempting to make amends with Minnesota after the shooting death of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti triggered bipartisan political backlash, Axios reports.

Why it matters: President Trump appears to be softening his tone on immigration enforcement after weeks of escalation in the state — but it remains unclear what his intentions are going forward.

"Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!" Trump said on Truth Social.

Here's what the administration has done so far

Trump on Monday announced he would send his border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to oversee immigration operations following Pretti's killing.

Unlike the broader ICE enforcement surge currently underway in the state, Homan has reportedly favored deportations focused on people he considers criminals and national security threats.

"There's a definite change of tone," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said. "There's a definitely a more collaborative tone."

Making nice with Walz and Frey

Trump has repeatedly clashed with Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey after the president sent thousands of federal agents to the state.

Trump on Monday said he and Frey had a "very good" conversation and "lots of progress" was made — discussions he said would continue Tuesday with Homan.

The president also said similar progress was made with Walz, noting the two "seemed to be on a similar wavelength."

Walking back "domestic terrorist" claims

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has repeatedly referred to both Pretti and Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Good — who was also killed by federal agents earlier this month — as domestic terrorists.

The other side: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday distanced the president from that rhetoric.

When asked if Trump agrees with painting the victims that way, Leavitt told reporters she hadn't heard the president "characterize" Pretti as a domestic terrorist.

Yes, but: Trump told the New York Times after Good's death that, "She behaved horribly," adding that, "She ran (the federal agent) over."

But the president changed his tone during a press briefing last week, saying Good's death was a "tragedy" after learning her father was a supporter.

"He was a tremendous Trump fan," the president said. "I hope he still feels the same."

Minneapolis today
Photo: BBC

Obama, Clinton urge Americans to ‘stand up’ after second Minneapolis shooting

Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton urged Americans to stand up and defend core US values after federal immigration agents fatally shot a Minneapolis man on Saturday. They sharply criticised President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown for the killing, which he blamed on Democratic “chaos”.

Bill Clinton delivered a fierce indictment of the current administration, saying peaceful protesters "have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed".

"All of this is unacceptable," Clinton said in a statement as he urged Americans to "stand up, speak out".

"If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back."

The Trump administration has faced intensifying pressure

The Trump administration has faced intensifying pressure over its mass immigration crackdown, particularly after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway.

That incident came less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car in the same Midwestern city.

Trump provocatively attributed the deaths to Minnesota's Democratic elected officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform: "Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE."

"Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos," he added.

On Sunday, business leaders from 60 corporations headquartered in Minnesota – including retailer Target, food giant General Mills and several professional sports franchises – signed an open letter "calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions" and for authorities to work together.

Voters upset

Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to heavily Democratic Minneapolis for weeks, after conservative media reported on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants, which Trump has repeatedly amplified.

The city, known for its bitterly cold winters, has one of the country's highest concentrations of Somali immigrants.

Since "Operation Metro Surge" began, many residents have carried whistles to notify others of the presence of immigration agents, while sometimes violent skirmishes have broken out between the officers and protesters.

Recent polling has shown voters increasingly upset with Trump's domestic immigration operations, as videos of masked agents seizing people off sidewalks – including children – proliferate.

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