President Donald Trump is facing a growing revolt from his MAGA loyalists over what they deem a ‘betrayal’ of border guards after he vowed to ‘de-escalate’ tensions in Minnesota.
But the US leader – who addressed supporters in Iowa for more than an hour on Tuesday evening – finds himself torn between two rival camps, with bombshell new polls finding the majority of Americans blame him for recent bloodshed at the hands of ICE officials.
The coming days have the potential to define Trump’s second term in office amid a frenzied response to the shooting of Alex Pretti by border guards in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Multiple bystander videos showed an agent shooting and killing the intensive care nurse, 37, after a roughly 30-second scuffle.
The clips appeared to contradict statements by the Department for Homeland Security (DHS), which said the shots were fired ‘defensively’ against Mr Pretti as he ‘approached’ them with a gun.
It came just weeks after the January 7 killing of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer less than a mile away.
Yet when handed an hour-long opportunity to address the topic in front of a crowd of his most enthusiastic supporters on Tuesday, the President decided to make no mention of the recent bloodshed in Minneapolis.
He instead focused on the economy, tariffs, wages and inflation as perceived achievements of his administration in an event designed to kickstart the long run-in to the November mid-term elections.
Trump only briefly touched on immigration during a section of his speech where he panned Joe Biden’s policies on the subject.
The President’s silence on the story consuming the States is likely to frustrate an electorate already baying for answers on the recent shootings.
It emerged on Tuesday that Trump’s team is taking the brunt of the blame for the rising chaos and increasingly deadly clashes in Minneapolis.
While the White House has deflected responsibility to Democrats in Minnesota for not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, Americans say it’s the administration’s fault that a second shooting of an American citizen has occurred within a month.
One third of the 1,027 registered voters surveyed in a new Daily Mail poll pin the blame on Trump for the violence in Minnesota.
Another 20 per cent say the missions of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are specifically at fault, according to the poll conducted by JL Partners.
Taken together, 53 per cent lay the blame at the feet of the Trump administration, compared with 35 per cent who point the finger at Democrats.
The fallout has led to the President pulling DHS Secretary Kristi Noem – who came out strongly in defence of the Pretti shooting in its aftermath – off internal immigration enforcement, redirecting her to focus on border security.
Has the President betrayed border agents or is this the only way to stop more bloodshed?
Comment now All this has reflected badly on the Trump administration and the MAGA president’s approval ratings have suffered as a result.
The poll showed Trump at 45 per cent approval, his equal worst ever showing in the survey, down two points from last week. It reveals 55 per cent of Americans now disapprove of his overall performance.
Worst of all for the President, immigration – his signature issue for the last decade – is now proving a liability, one of the areas where he has least support. Just 39 per cent approve of his handling of the issue, with 47 per cent disapproving.
The zealousness with which ICE has pursued its mission is now the number one driver of disapproval of the president with 28 per cent of Americans ranking it as the main reason for their disapproval, a surge of 10 points from before the Pretti shooting.
ICE far exceeds the second-placed reason for disapproval of Trump – 16 per cent ranked the cost of living and inflation as their main choice.
American voters are also turning on ICE, with a majority now demanding its raids stop.
Polling shows 53 per cent believe ICE and CBP’s raids and their presence in US cities should now end.
Even 19 per cent of Republicans agree, while 71 per cent of GOP voters believe the immigration raids should continue.
Now 47 per cent believe ICE should be disbanded, an uptick from 43 per cent in a Daily Mail poll conducted Friday.
Twenty-seven per cent of Republicans joined 66 per cent of Democrats and 46 per cent of independents in holding that view.
In a development which mounted more woes on the administration, a new Border Patrol report said that two agents fired the 10 shots at Mr Pretti that killed him and did not mention the gun owner taking out his gun.
Following the shooting, DHS and Border Patrol officials portrayed the nurse as an instigator who ‘brandished’ a weapon at officers.
But the report claimed that while an officer shouted that Mr Pretti had a gun, it did not mention him taking it out.
The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.
Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said.
‘CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued,’ the report claims.
‘During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times.’
The report continues: ‘Approximately five seconds later, a (Border Patrol agent) discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a (Customs and Border Protection officer) also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.’
Any bid to ameliorate the ordinary American voter risks alienating Trump’s MAGA fanbase which has held the President as up as its figurehead for years.
Many in the latter group fear the largest mass deportation effort in US history they were keenly anticipating, could unravel amid talks to wind down operations in Minneapolis.
The arrival of White House Border Czar Tom Homan on the scene may be a relief to rank-and-file ICE agents who increasingly saw Ms Noem as a haphazard leader.
But there’s now a palpable fear among Trump’s most fervent supporters that the leadership swap could precipitate a significant change in immigration strategy.
Homan’s top priority, according to sources, will be coordinating negotiations between Minnesota Democratic state leaders and the White House in the wake of the Pretti shooting.
Immigration hardliners warn any deal by Mr Homan that leads ICE agents to scale back their presence in Minnesota will be seen as a collapse of Trump’s mass deportation agenda and a win for liberal protesters.
These concerns were exacerbated when Trump said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday that Homeland Security would ‘de-escalate a little bit’ in Minneapolis.
As disapproval rains down on Trump from both the general American public and his MAGA core, it seems unlikely he can appease one group without frustrating the other.
Who he decides to win over, as he navigates the biggest crisis in his presidency, is likely to define his second term.
