US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (January 27) announced he will "de-escalate a little bit" in Minneapolis following a backlash against his immigration policies due to the shooting deaths of two US citizens.
Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan was in Minneapolis to meet with local leaders about how the administration will handle the fallout following the death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse killed by immigration officials. In early January, Renee Good was also fatally shot by an immigration officer.
"Bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible," he said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
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It is not a pullback, asserts Trump
Additionally, Trump indicated that he thought that the presence of Gregory Bovino, a hardline Border Patrol commander in Minneapolis, was likely not beneficial to "the situation" as he is "a pretty out-there kind of a guy".
"We're going to de-escalate a little bit," Trump told Fox News after days of tensions following the shooting of Pretti, while adding that it was not a "pullback".
Trump criticises Pretti
Homan, the top border enforcement official in the United States who uses a somewhat less aggressive communication style than some, met with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday. Trump told reporters that he did not endorse the term "assassin" used by a top aide to describe Pretti, but rather believed in a "very honest and honourable investigation".
However, he did critique Pretti for carrying a legal gun that was subsequently removed from him prior to his being killed.
"I don't like that he had a gun, I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines," the president said.
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Nationwide protests
Following his meeting with Homan, Mayor Frey released a statement claiming that they discussed the "significant negative impacts that this operation has had on Minneapolis". He also stated that the "city of Minneapolis will not enforce federal immigration laws".
The former vice-presidential nominee of the Democratic party, Walz, called for "impartial investigations" into all shooting incidents by federal agents in Minneapolis as well as a "significant decrease" in the number of federal law enforcement agents present in Minnesota.
The death of Pretti has resulted in nationwide outrage and protest.
Democratic former president Joe Biden on Tuesday said the situation "betrays our most basic values as Americans." Ex-presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have also spoken out.
