Even a former Trump lawyer was disturbed by the second ICE-related killing in Minneapolis.
Jenna Ellis, 41, called out first lady Melania Trump for screening her eponymous documentary on Saturday, mere hours after federal agents shot 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
“I have deep respect for the First Lady and have been honored to meet her. But this event should have been postponed,” Ellis wrote in an X post.
“With Minneapolis unraveling and Americans demanding leadership, this feels disconnected from reality,” she went on. “Disturbing echoes of 2020.”
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
Melania, a $75 million Amazon documentary about the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, was screened privately for the first time at the White House on Saturday night.
Since a snowstorm was looming over Washington, D.C., and the 40-seater White House Family Theater had already been torn down to make way for Trump’s swanky ballroom, the first lady hosted some 70 guests at a makeshift theater in the East Room, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is scheduled for a red-carpet premiere at the newly MAGAfied Kennedy Center on Thursday night, one day ahead of the official opening.
The guest list for the intimate screening included director Brett Ratner, Apple CEO Tim Cook, New York Stock Exchange CEO Lynn Martin, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Queen Rania of Jordan, among other high-flying names.
“I am deeply humbled to have been surrounded by an inspiring room of friends, family, and cultural iconoclasts at the White House last night,” the first lady wrote on X. “Each of these individuals each brought their unique vision to the world, making a lasting impression.”
Jeff Bezos’s Amazon reportedly funded the film for $40 million and spent another $35 million on marketing, including making it available in more than 1,400 theaters in 27 countries before putting it on streaming services, Puck reported last week. The movie is expected to gross about $5 million in the U.S. and Canada on its opening weekend, according to the National Research Group.
The homestretch of promos for Melania comes amid growing unrest in Minneapolis, where two people have been shot dead by agents carrying out Trump’s hardline immigration sweep.
Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was one of several people filming federal agents conducting an operation in Minneapolis on Saturday. Multiple videos show that when Pretti came to the aid of a woman who had been pushed down by an agent, a scuffle broke out and quickly escalated into another agent firing multiple shots at him.
“We are heartbroken but also very angry,” Pretti’s parents said in a statement. “Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends, and also the American veterans whom he cared for.”
“Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly,” they went on. “However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman.”
