Trump laments shooting deaths of Good and Pretti, insists Minnesota personnel shuffle is not a 'pullback'
President Donald Trump insisted the removal of Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino from Minnesota is not a "pullback," while lamenting the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.
"It was terrible. Both of them were terrible," Trump said in an exclusive interview Tuesday on "The Will Cain Show." "I hate to see it, I hate to see that."
During his interview with host Will Cain, the president addressed a shakeup of immigration leadership in Minnesota after two agent-involved fatalities sparked widespread protests and law enforcement clashes in the state.
Trump explained the reasoning behind his decision to remove Bovino and replace him with "border czar" Tom Homan.
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"Bovino is very good, but he's a pretty out-there kind of a guy," Trump explained. "And in some cases, that's good. Maybe it wasn't good here."
"Tom is fantastic. Tom is a tough guy, but I've watched over the years, and he's gotten along with governors, and he gets along with mayors," the president added. "Some people don't. Some people just want to do their job and leave me alone."
Trump said he plans to "de-escalate" immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, but stressed the personnel change does not amount to a retreat from enforcement efforts.
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"I don't think it's a pullback," he argued. "It's a little bit of a change."
"We're gonna de-escalate a little bit," he added.
Homan met separately with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey – a pair who have strongly criticized the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Walz and Homan "agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals."
Cooperation between Trump administration officials and Democratic leaders in Minnesota marks a notable shift in tone following Homan's arrival.
Trump expanded on his call with Walz, telling Cain it "couldn't have been a nicer conversation."
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"It's hard to believe that's the same guy I watch on television… because we had a very reasonable conversation, very good conversation," he said.
Speaking further about the deaths of Good and Pretti, Trump said the political views of Good’s parents weighed heavily on him. (Good's father was reportedly a Trump supporter.)
"I'm not sure about his [Pretti’s] parents, but I know her [Good’s] parents were big Trump fans," Trump said. "Makes me feel bad anyway. But, I mean, I guess you could say even worse. They were tremendous Trump people."
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While lamenting Pretti’s death, the pro-Second Amendment president did question why Pretti was legally carrying a handgun, calling it "unusual."
"I don't like the fact that he was carrying a gun that was fully loaded and he had two magazines with him," he said. "And it's pretty unusual."
Trump did not soften his stance on what he described as "paid insurrectionists" and "agitators" who have flooded Minnesota streets in protest of his administration’s immigration crackdown.
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"The people that I've been watching over the last few weeks, these are paid insurrectionists. These are paid agitators. These people aren't normal," he said.
Trump also argued that the administration's successes receive little media attention compared to its missteps.
"We take out drug dealers. We take a whole group of people by the thousands. And if we get one person a little bit wrong, headlines," the president said.
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Trump went on to suggest the protests in Minneapolis are being used as a distraction from broader allegations of fraud in the state.
"Minneapolis, you know, with what's happening with all the hoopla, is so people don't talk about the fraud," Trump said.
"You think it's a distraction?" asked Will Cain.
"I've said it from day one," Trump replied. "It's a distraction."