President Donald Trump was slammed after he told Fox News he feels "terrible" about the ICE shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti but nonetheless said he feels especially "bad" about Good's death because her parents "were big Trump fans."
Earlier this month, ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Good in her car. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back against this narrative considering witnesses described seeing Good in the vehicle trying to flee officers when she was shot.
Now, just weeks later, lawmakers and public citizens alike are calling for an investigation after analysis of multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti—a weapon that authorities said Pretti was permitted to carry but was not handling at the time—before fatally shooting him. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti—just like she did with Good before him—a "domestic terrorist."
Trump of course couldn't resist making their deaths all about himself, saying the following to Fox host Will Cain while discussing Pretti's killing:
"It's pretty unusual but nobody knows when they [ICE agents] saw the gun, how they saw the gun, anything else. Bottom line, it was terrible, both of them were terrible. I’m not sure about his parents, but I know her parents were big Trump fans.”
“It makes me feel bad anyway, but I guess you could say, even worse, they were tremendous Trump people, Trump fans, and you know, their daughter was, she was, I don’t know if you could say ‘radicalized,’ maybe radicalized, maybe not. But I hate to see it, I hate to see it.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Trump was harshly criticized.
The president's remarks came just days after CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil told Trump that Good's father, Timothy Good, is a supporter of his. Trump, in remarks in the White House press briefing room, said he hopes Mr. Good is still a "Trump fan" after his daughter's death.
Trump's claim that Good was "radicalized" has also been contested.
Good’s loved ones have challenged claims that she was an activist, let alone a "domestic terrorist."
Her ex-husband described Good as a creative person, not someone engaged in political activism. He said she had never taken part in a protest during the years he knew her and had no criminal history beyond a parking ticket. Good's mother Donna Ganger told reporters that her daughter was “not part of anything like that at all,” referring to protests against ICE.
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