Widely circulated video of Pretti’s killing by federal agents undercut earlier assertions of him being a gunman
White House officials sought to rapidly distance Donald Trump and top officials from their initial portrayals of the man fatally shot by federal officials in Minnesota as a gunman, as they faced a deepening backlash after video footage was widely seen to undercut their assertions.
The move came as Trump advisers appeared to realize that the caustic portrayals of the man, Alex Pretti, who was reportedly licensed to carry a gun, had turned the killing into an even larger political liability for the president.
Over the weekend, senior administration officials including Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff, called the victim “a domestic terrorist who tried to assassinate law enforcement”, while Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, accused him of perpetrating “the definition of domestic terrorism”.
Oh for sure I’m not implying the Trump administration is over or anything, but this is just the first time I can ever recall the right not immediately and universally rallying around the most patently false bullshit imaginable.
That said, if they actually pull out of Minneapolis as news reports were indicating, I think this is a huge defeat for the Trump administration. I’m sure they will try to come up with a new plan as you say but it’s still a big tactical win to defeat this particular strategy since I think it was pretty clear and easy how it was going to work.