President Donald Trump struck a markedly conciliatory tone Monday as tensions continued to simmer in Minnesota, saying he had a “very good call” with Democratic Governor Tim Walz amid unrest following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal immigration officer over the weekend. The call, according to both sides, reflected an unusual moment of alignment—at least in process, if not politics—as protests, investigations, and sharp rhetoric converged on Minneapolis.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Walz reached out seeking cooperation and that the two leaders appeared to be “on a similar wavelength.” Trump said he made clear that the administration’s focus remains on removing criminal offenders and that he would have White House border czar Tom Homan contact the governor directly. Homan, Trump announced, is being deployed to Minnesota to manage Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations on the ground and will report directly to the president.
Trump emphasized what he described as successful federal interventions in other cities and suggested Minnesota could see similar results. While acknowledging that crime was already “way down” in the state, he said both he and Walz want to improve conditions further. The president later told The Wall Street Journal that his administration is “reviewing everything” related to the Pretti shooting, stopping short of offering a judgment on whether the agent acted appropriately.
Walz’s office characterized the call as “productive,” but framed its focus differently. According to the governor’s statement, Walz pressed Trump on the need for impartial investigations into shootings involving federal agents and urged a reduction in the federal law enforcement footprint in Minnesota. The governor’s office said Trump agreed to consult the Department of Homeland Security to ensure the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension can conduct an independent investigation and to consider scaling back the number of federal agents while coordinating enforcement more narrowly around violent criminals.
The exchange comes as Minneapolis remains on edge. Protests escalated over the weekend, including confrontations between agitators and law enforcement at a hotel Sunday night. Federal authorities say Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a 9mm handgun and resisted attempts to disarm him. Eyewitness accounts and video footage have raised questions about whether he posed an immediate threat, fueling public skepticism and legal scrutiny.
The Pretti shooting followed the Jan. 7 death of Renee Good in a separate ICE-involved incident, further intensifying backlash from Democratic leaders. Trump and his administration have placed responsibility for the unrest on Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing them of inflaming tensions through rhetoric that emboldened agitators.
Then, the next day, former President Joe Biden weighed in with a sweeping and emotionally charged statement that sharply diverged from Trump’s approach. Biden condemned what he described as citizens being “gunned down” and “terrorized” by their own government, framing the events in Minneapolis as a betrayal of America’s core values. He called for full, fair, and transparent investigations into both deaths and offered condolences to the families of Pretti and Good, asserting that Minnesotans had already “suffered enough at the hands of this Administration.”
The juxtaposition was stark. Trump emphasized coordination, enforcement priorities, and process. Biden focused on constitutional violations, moral outrage, and national identity. Together, the statements underscored not only a state in crisis, but two profoundly different interpretations of what the moment demands—and who bears responsibility for it.
What has unfolded in Minneapolis this past month betrays our most basic values as Americans. We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a…
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 27, 2026
