Shortly after news broke that ICE agents had killed Alex Pretti — whom the media described as a “protester” and an ICU nurse — many Republicans aligned with the president began calling for ICE operations to wind down and for a different approach to be taken.
At the same time, it became clear that a policy shift was coming and that high-profile Trump firings could be imminent. So, a blame game broke out inside the White House between White House adviser Stephen Miller and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Miller labeled Pretti an “assassin,” a claim based on assumption rather than confirmed knowledge of Pretti’s intent. After the public relations fallout, Noem sought to place responsibility for her framing of the incident on Miller.
What caused the political winds to shift was a combination of factors:
Many voices on the right — including public officials, popular TV hosts, Trump’s close friends, and even First Lady Melania Trump — called for ICE efforts to cool off based on mainstream media reporting. They saw how effective the media’s narrative was, how it moved poll numbers, and concluded that continuing down this path — even if they believed in it — was politically futile.
That illustrates the power of the media. It can pressure politicians to abandon policies they believe are right — even ones they once championed as good for the country.
But now, new information has emerged suggesting many of these voices jumped the gun in condemning ICE.
Within hours of Pretti’s death, there was already enough information to know two things: (1) Pretti was an agitator and had previously been confrontational with ICE agents during their operations, and (2) Pretti was part of an organized network of activists using military-style tactics to disrupt ICE operations.
NEW: Days later, and as of a few hours ago, we have two new very important details.
1. We now know that just one week before he was killed, Pretti had suffered a broken rib in an altercation with ICE. Mainstream outlets reported this story, assuming it supported the narrative that ICE was being aggressive toward protesters. But it also reinforces the counter-narrative — that Pretti was regularly involved in disrupting ICE operations and had gotten physical with them before.
2. A new video released yesterday shows Pretti, eleven days before his death, spitting on an ICE vehicle, kicking the headlights off a moving ICE patrol car, and then becoming involved in another physical altercation with agents.
Pretti was an agitator. He was violent. And this behavior had become routine for him. As I have argued earlier, ICE is operating under impossible circumstances where activists opposed to them have crossed the line from peaceful protest to regular physical confrontation.
And, of course, it is impossible to forget that Pretti arrived at his final altercation armed with a gun — the factor that escalated the situation and led ICE officials to reasonably fear for their lives and shoot him.
Despite these details, the media narrative had done its job, and President Trump announced a change of course with ICE — bringing in Tom Homan, who has always preferred a lower profile on ICE deportations, instead of Gregory Bovino, who had recently been leading them with a showman’s flair (he has been criticized for wearing a military uniform that resembles Nazi uniforms — a decision that was clearly an odd choice).
The impact of those scenes on television — on both the general public and on Trump’s inner circle — that’s the power of the media. It isn’t just liberal outlets attacking him; it’s also Fox News hosts who are skimming over the details, and the president’s friends and advisers who don’t want to be ostracized for his policies. When those images dominate the screen, they shape how people in power respond.
It’s not entirely clear what will change with ICE’s operations, but Trump wants to turn down the heat. After talks with local leaders, he described the situation in Minneapolis as “very unfortunate” and expressed a desire to “de-escalate” tensions following the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. In turn, approval for ICE and deportation efforts has dropped as the media amplifies fake narratives.
But this moment is about more than Trump adjusting tactics. To the insurgents in the streets, to Mayor Jacob Frey, Governor Tim Walz, and aligned Democrats, it looks like his surrender. And that perception will only embolden further efforts to obstruct federal authority.
