Donald Trump He entered damage control mode this Tuesday to mitigate the political repercussions of his drastic immigration agenda. The president of the United States returns to forced marches his approach to the crisis in Minneapolis, which reached its climax last Saturday with the murder at the hands of the Border Patrol of the citizen Alex Prettisecond fatality so far in January after Renée Goodshot in the same city.
Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Millerdid not hesitate to call Pretti a “murderer” and “domestic terrorist,” a nurse in the intensive care unit of the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis who was peacefully protesting in the street when he was shot a dozen at point-blank range.
The White House softened its stance as more images of the shooting emerged that refuted its initial version of events. So much so, Trump himself assured this Tuesday that he was “analyzing” the scenes of the death of Pretti, 37 years old. “I love everyone. I love all of our people. I love his family. It’s a very sad situation,” he added.
The American president received his Secretary of Homeland Security in the Oval Office on Monday night, Kristi Noemand his head advisor, Cory Lewandowskiwho worked on his first presidential campaign. Those in charge of directing the deployment of 3,000 federal agents in Minnesota were instructed to de-escalate. Now, his political future is up in the air.
Trump fears that Noem, one of the great exponents of the MAGA movement, will suffer a impeachment. Trump rules out the dismissal of the former governor of South Dakota, but Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives threaten to begin the impeachment process if she is not removed from office immediately.
“We can do it by hook or by crook,” says the letter signed by Hakeem JeffriesDemocratic House Minority Leader, Katherine Clark, whip Democrat, and Pete Aguilarpresident of the Democratic Caucus, who so far have not convinced any Republican leader.
Trump tried to reduce tensions by sending to Minneapolis Tom Homanyour ‘border czar’. He will be the one to take the reins of the operation in Minnesota to put an end to the “retaliation campaign” against the state, a Democratic bastion.
The president was preparing to replace Greg Bovinothe “commanding general” of the Border Patrol who went so far as to accuse Pretti of trying to “massacre” federal agents. The American press considers Bovino’s career to be amortized, and he will return to his old position as sector chief in El Centro, California, before embarking on retirement.
Bovino is not the only one singled out for the crisis. The other big victim is Todd Lyonsthe acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), who must appear this Friday for contempt in a federal court in Minnesota.
The federal judge Patrick Schiltz recognizes that its subpoena is an “extraordinary measure,” but believes that the agency has failed to comply with a series of court orders that required some detainees to receive bail hearings. “The patience of the court has been exhausted,” the magistrate wrote.
conciliatory tone
In the last hours, Trump exhibited an unusual conciliatory tone for him. The president, who spoke on Monday with the governor of Minnesota, Tim Waltzand with the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Freytwo Democratic leaders, assured that he had had “a very good call” with Walz and that he was “in tune” with him.
The electoral ticket companion of Kamala Harris In the November 2024 presidential election, he celebrated that the state of Minnesota could carry out its own investigation into Pretti’s execution, and Mayor Frey anticipated the partial withdrawal of federal agents from Minneapolis.
Trump’s change of position responds, to a large extent, to the national indignation caused by Pretti’s death, an indignation likely to find an echo at the polls in the midterms or midterm elections next November, as the Republican senator fears Ted Cruzwhich warned of the risks of suffering an electoral “massacre.” Not so much because of the immigration issue, it is true, but because of the management of the economy.
However, a large majority of American citizens believe that the White House’s anti-immigration campaign has crossed too many red lines. Only 39% approve of Trump’s approach on this matter, according to the joint survey carried out by the polling firm Ipsos and the agency Reuters They took place between Friday and Sunday.
In February of last year, the approval percentage reached 50%. Now, 53% disapprove of the Administration’s management. Furthermore, 58% consider that ICE is exceeding, when only 26% consider that the actions of federal agents have been “adequate.”
The same poll also reflects a decline in Trump’s overall approval rating, which fell to 38%, the lowest level since his return to the White House. Worrying figures that, however, improve on those he presented at this point in his mandate Joe Bidenhis immediate predecessor in office.
Trump, however, perceives that fatigue is present even among his own ranks. The example of Chris Madelthe Republican candidate to govern Minnesota, who withdrew his electoral campaign this Monday after considering that the anti-immigration crusade had gone too far.
“I cannot support the declared retaliation by national Republicans against the citizens of our state, nor can I consider myself a member of a party that would do something like that,” he lamented.