The RNC distributed talking points highlighting Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino’s false statements about the killing of Alex Pretti just hours before he was sidelined by President Donald Trump — a sign of how quickly the party’s messaging has shifted on the events in Minneapolis.
The memo, sent to party surrogates midday on Monday and obtained by POLITICO, encouraged Republicans to cast blame for the shooting on Democrats for “inciting protestors to attack and aggressively confront law enforcement in Minneapolis.” The talking points also delve into administration officials’ account of how the shooting took place, including Bovino’s Saturday comments that the U.S. citizen killed by immigration agents “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” The government’s initial account has been called into question by videos shot by witnesses as well as analyses conducted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others.
The memo includes the talking point that “Agents attempted to disarm the individual as he violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a Border Patrol agent fired defensive shots.” Video from the scene appears to contradict that statement.
The whiplash between the RNC’s promotion of Bovino’s comments and his sudden removal shortly afterward from the federal operation in Minneapolis shows how the administration and other Republicans scrambled to contain the fallout from the shooting. A significant number of elected GOP officials have called for an official investigation into the matter, a rare and notable break with the Trump administration.
Immediately following the shooting on Saturday, high-profile administration officials like Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly described Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, as a “domestic terrorist.”
By that evening, however, Trump was already more cautious in his description of what had transpired. In an interview that day with The Wall Street Journal, the president did not answer directly when asked whether the officer involved in the shooting did the right thing and said his administration is “reviewing everything.”
Speaking at a restaurant in Iowa on Tuesday, Trump said that he hadn’t heard the assessment from Noem and others in his administration, such as deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” or assassin, but said that “certainly he shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.” Pretti had a permit to carry a firearm, according to Minnesota officials.
Monday’s talking points memo notably omits reference to any comments made by Noem since the shooting took place. While the White House has publicly stood behind Noem, administration allies have increasingly placed blame on the secretary’s handling of the chaotic crackdown in Minnesota as calls among Democrats for her impeachment have grown. On Tuesday evening, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Noem should be “out of a job,” while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she “should go.”
Trump announced on Monday morning that border czar Tom Homan would go to Minneapolis to oversee the administration’s immigration operation there, a move seen as an acknowledgement that DHS’s leadership had mishandled the situation. Hours later, Bovino had been removed from his post as commander at large, according to The Atlantic.
Kiersten Pels, a spokesperson for the RNC, would not confirm the authenticity of the memo but echoed its overall sentiment in a written statement. “Democrats incited this violence by encouraging protesters to confront law enforcement,” she wrote. “Democrats are demonizing ICE and threatening to defund DHS instead of condemning attacks on officers – while President Trump and Republicans stand with law enforcement and public safety.”
Trump’s approval rating on immigration has dropped significantly since he first came into office, with only 39% of Americans now approving of the president’s handling of immigration, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. The high-profile shooting in Minneapolis, following the fatal shooting earlier this month of Renée Good in the city, has only brought more attention to the administration’s goal of a mass deportation.
Democrats in the Senate have pledged to vote against funding DHS in a crucial vote later this week unless the bill is amended to add guardrails for the agency — and the RNC’s talking points seize on the potential for a partial government shutdown as well.
“Now, Democrats are threatening to defund law enforcement later this week by refusing to pass a DHS funding bill,” the memo concludes.
“While Democrats will stand in the way of ICE and law enforcement to defend terrorists and criminal aliens, President Trump and Republicans are working to keep our communities safe.”
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