White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has refused to back Stephen Miller’s claim that a Veterans Affairs nurse gunned down by federal immigration agents on Saturday was a “would-be assassin”.
Hours after Trump sidelined his Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem, who had painted Alex Pretti as a “domestic terrorist,” Leavitt also distanced the president from similar comments made by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s own deportation strategy.
Miller’s incendiary comments came hours after the 37-year-old nurse was killed while filming border patrol agents during an immigration operation on the streets of Minneapolis.
Footage shows agents tackling Pretti to the ground, spraying him with a chemical agent, then firing multiple shots while he appears restrained or unarmed.
Despite this, in response to a video of the shooting posted by Democrats, Miller wrote: “A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists.”
Asked on Monday why Miller and other administration officials had jumped to conclusions, Leavitt replied: “Look, this has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation throughout the weekend. As for President Trump, whom I speak for, he has said that he wants to let the investigation continue and let the facts lead in this case.”
Pressed again as to whether she agreed with the depiction of Pretti as a “domestic terrorist,” she replied: “I have not heard the president characterize Mr Pretti in that way. However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts and the investigation lead itself.”
The comments underscore the frustration within the White House that Trump’s signature election policy has now become a major source of outrage for millions of Americans as the midterm elections loom in November.
According to a new POLITICO poll near half of all Americans—49 percent—say his mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, including 1 in 5 voters who backed the president in 2024.
Equally troubling for the president is that more than 1 in 3 voters from his own base say that while they support the goals of his mass deportation campaign, they disapprove of the way he is implementing it.
Trump sought to recalibrate on Monday by announcing he would be sending in his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis tonight, effectively marginalizing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Customs Border Protection commander Greg Bovino.
Both had spent the weekend hitting the airwaves trying to justify the shooting as an act of self-defense and painting Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” intent on harming law enforcement, despite videos and witnesses saying otherwise.
“This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers,” Noem said on Saturday.
The president also held what he said was a “very good call” with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, declaring that they were “on the same wavelength” in wanting to defuse the crisis in Minneapolis.
But distancing Trump from Miller’s comments is significant, given that the White House aide, known for his extreme comments and nationalist views, is one of the president’s top advisers.
“I’d love to have him come up and explain his true feelings,” Trump joked to business leaders last year. “But maybe not his truest feelings. That might be going a little bit too far.”
Miller’s claim about Pretti being a “would-be assassin” sparked a furious, profanity-laden response from Democrats on Saturday, who posted on X: “You’re a f---ing liar with blood on your hands.”
But he later doubled down in response to criticism from Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar, who wrote on X: “Get ICE out of Minnesota NOW. And Republicans in Congress: Stop your silence and stop being complicit.”
Miller responded: “A domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement and this is your response? You and the state’s entire Democrat leadership team have been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invaded the country.”
