President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt are distancing themselves from the provocative statements made by top administration officials in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti involving federal agents in Minneapolis.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller quickly accused Pretti, an ICU nurse, of domestic terrorism after Saturday’s shooting without citing any evidence.
“Does the president agree with them?” ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Leavitt during Monday’s press briefing.
“Look, as I’ve said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way,” Leavitt said. “However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts in the investigation lead itself.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, January 26, 2026.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Trump, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, notably declined to say whether he thought the agents involved in the Pretti shooting acted appropriately and said his administration was “reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”
The shooting is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, Leavitt told reporters. Customs and Border Protection is also conducting their own internal review, she said.
President Trump on Monday announced he is dispatching his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota — bypassing the normal chain of command — where Noem and Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino have been overseeing ICE operations.
“He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
Noem, Bovino and FBI Director Kash Patel have defended the agents’ actions. Noem said Pretti had been “brandishing” a gun and possessed multiple magazines with the intent to inflict harm on officers — a “massacre” Bovino claimed. Patel went so far as to suggest carrying a gun to a protest is illegal.
Trump, like Noem, Bovino and Patel, criticized Pretti for carrying a weapon at a protest and had called Pretti a “gunman” in a social media post over the weekend.
“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump told the WSJ on Sunday. “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”
State and local officials said Pretti was lawfully carrying a gun, with a concealed carry permit, and video reviewed and verified by ABC News does not appear to show that Pretti drew his gun on the agents and instead was holding up a cell phone, not a gun, to record agents during the incident.
The shooting and the administration’s response has prompted criticism from Democrats and Republicans, as well as the editorial boards of the traditionally conservative New York Post and Wall Street Journal.
Several Democrats have called for Noem to resign or be impeached. Leavitt insisted on Monday Trump still has the “utmost confidence and trust” in Noem, who she said is “continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that’s taking place across the whole entire country.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in Washington, Jan. 24, 2026, Border Czar Tom Homan in Washington, Jan. 14, 2026 and Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino in Minneapolis, Jan. 13, 2026.
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President Trump also spoke on Monday with Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Trump said it “was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength.” The president said that Walz was “happy” that Homan was going to Minnesota.
Walz confirmed he and Trump had a “productive” phone call, though areas of disagreement remained apparent.
“I explained to him that his staff doesn’t have their facts straight about Minnesota,” Walz posted on X, along with a op-ed in the Wall Street Journal where Walz makes the case that “federal officials are lying” regarding the immigration situation and ensuing intervention in Minneapolis.
“That isn’t effective law enforcement. It isn’t following the rule of law. It’s chaos. It’s illegal. And it’s un-American,” Walz wrote.
President Donald Trump in Washington, Jan. 20, 2026 and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Minneapolis, Jan. 25, 2026.
Reuters/AP
Late Monday afternoon, Trump posted he had had a “very good call” with the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey.
“Lots of progress is being made!” he said, adding, “Tom Homan will be meeting with him tomorrow in order to continue the discussion.”
Nevertheless, the White House on Monday continued to lay blame on the state’s Democratic leadership for rising tensions in Minneapolis.
“Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America’s streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals,” Leavitt said.
“But let’s be clear about the circumstances which led to that moment on Saturday. This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota for weeks,” Leavitt said.
Trump, in his call with Walz, said the federal law enforcement presence in Minnesota could be scaled back — but only if certain conditions are met, including assistance from local police in apprehending and detaining undocumented immigrants.
“If Governor Walz and Mayor [Jacob] Frey implement these common-sense cooperative measures, CBP will no longer be needed to support ICE on the ground in Minnesota. ICE and local law enforcement will peacefully work together as they are effectively doing in so many other states and jurisdictions to remove violent criminals from American neighborhoods across the country,” Leavitt said.
