President Trump took some questions from the travel press pool before leaving for Des Moines, Iowa, for a campaign event, where he delivered a speech about the economy. There were some interesting and some very bad remarks from the president yesterday, however. Let’s get through the pain first—his take on the Alex Pretti shooting in Minneapolis is nuanced, measured, and reserved. He wants an investigation into the shooting, he won’t defend the Border Patrol agent just yet, and hopes state and federal officials can work better together. He did say a reduction of the immigration officer footprint might happen, which is a surrender to the domestic terrorists. He also repeated the line that Pretti shouldn’t have been carrying a firearm, which is immaterial.
Trump was asked about whether he felt it was appropriate for DHS to label him a domestic terrorist.
“Well, I haven’t heard that. But he shouldn’t have been carrying a gun…Bottom line, everybody in this room, we view that as a very unfortunate incident, okay? Everyone, unless you’re a stupid person. Very, very unfortunate, isn’t it,” said the president. “I don’t like that he had a gun, I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff. And despite that, I say, that’s a, very unfortunate.”
You can bring your firearms to a protest; Pretti was killed because he thought he was above the law and interfered in a federal law enforcement action. Needless to say, gun rights groups were not pleased:
The NRA unequivocally believes that all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be.
— NRA (@NRA) January 28, 2026
Peaceful protests while armed isn’t radical—it’s American.
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) January 27, 2026
The First and Second Amendments protect those rights, and they always have.
GOA will hold any administration accountable. pic.twitter.com/ox8lGSrJ54
"The President is simply wrong. While we agree you can’t interfere with law enforcement, you absolutely have the right to carry the tools for self-defense while lawfully protesting. In fact, that’s precisely the kind of place where exercising that right matters most.… https://t.co/SMsjufbh2Y
— National Association for Gun Rights (@gunrights) January 27, 2026
Cam: Yes you can. https://t.co/0ZTdTTgBnF
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) January 27, 2026
https://t.co/FBpSs09pGO pic.twitter.com/KdX0WcPfGK
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) January 27, 2026
He also dismissed concerns about the implications of the overhaul he enacted regarding immigration enforcement, which, according to Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, involved shipping out of the state, and Tom Homan was sent in to oversee everything.
“I do that all the time. I shake up teams. Everybody here, these are a lot of owners of farmers and places, and you shake up your team, if they can’t do the crops fast enough. Look, we have an incredible team. We did something that nobody said was possible. We didn’t go back to Congress ask for legislation – we closed the border,” said Trump.
Yet, there was a little reference regarding Cuba when the pool turned its attention to Venezuela, which we raided earlier this month and captured President Nicolas Maduro. Is Cuba, a close ally of Caracas, next? What’s the plan there?
“Well, we’ll see what happens with Cuba,” said Trump. “Cuba will be failing….Cuba is really a nation that’s close to failing.”
Are we going in? Are the casinos coming back soon?
This line about Pretti and the Second Amendment, however, is unfortunate. The president is wrong, but this is the course he’s charted, and it’s the wrong path.