Trump blindsided his senior advisers with radical ICE flip in Minnesota: report

Donald Trump’s about-face on the surge of Department of Homeland Security agents in Minneapolis, which led to conciliatory phone calls to Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Mayor Jacob Frey (D) Monday, caught members of his inner circle flatfooted.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, an interview Trump did with the Journal’s Josh Dawsey, where he cast doubt on his own administration's spin on the shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, was the first indication that a change in policy was in the air, forcing them to scramble.

That led to a flurry of activity on Monday, where Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, the face of the violent occupation of Minneapolis, was unceremoniously exiled back to El Centro, California, where it is expected he will retire.

The Journal is reporting, “Trump’s decision to change course was a stunning shift on a policy that is core to his political identity, especially for a president who has often rewarded advisers for doubling down in the face of vocal opposition,” adding that Trump’s doubts about the highly charged Pretti shooting, aired in his Sunday Journal interview, “was the first time that some senior advisers to the president learned that Trump was considering rethinking the administration’s strategy in Minneapolis, according to administration officials.”

The report noted that the re-elevation of border czar Tom Homan to be the new front man in the administration’s war on immigrants also only became known to his advisers when he announced it on Truth Social.

“Trump worried that his administration’s enforcement activities in Minnesota looked chaotic, not strong, according to people familiar with the matter. His concerns only grew as cable news commentators picked apart comments made by his top immigration officials, with even some of his allies noting on television that their words weren’t supported by the video footage,” the Journal reported.