President Donald Trump expressed support for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as a growing number of Democrats are calling for her to be impeached following a Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis that killed armed protester Alex Pretti last week.
“I know you addressed it this morning. You talked about the incredible success, and it is an incredible success at the southern border,” Fox News host Will Cain said to Trump during an interview at an event he attended in Iowa on Tuesday.
“But you were asked, with the shift in Minneapolis and Tom Homan going to Minnesota, do you still have confidence in DHS Secretary Kristi Noem? You brought up the success at the border,” Cain asked.
“I do,” Trump responded.
“You do?” Cain followed up.
“Look, she was there with the border. Who closed up the border? She did with Tom Homan, with the whole group. I mean, they closed up the border. The border is a tremendous success, one of the most secure borders in the entire world. We were a laughingstock one and a half years ago for the whole world,” Trump answered.
“The whole world laughed at us. I had friends that said, is that real? You know, they’d look at a picture — you’ve been down to the border. They’d look at a picture of the border with hundreds of thousands of people pouring in like it was water. And they said, is that really — they can’t believe it. They think it’s one of these crazy movies that they make. The border was horrible. It was horrible,” he added.
“You know, I did the border twice. The first time I won, 2016, I won on the border, but that border was nothing and I fixed it immediately. It was great. We had great years. And we had a great economy. We had the best economy in history in 2016, my first term. And we rebuilt the military and we got the largest regulation cuts. We had the best job number. We had a great first term. This term seems to be blowing it away,” Trump said.
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The parents of Pretti, who was an ICU nurse for the VA, have shared details of their last conversation with their son days before his death.
Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan, said they spoke with him a few days before the shooting, discussing everyday matters such as repairs he had made at his home. They described him as caring and generous, and said he had recently given a large tip to a Latino worker who had helped with a garage door project — a decision they said reflected his concern for others amid the ongoing unrest over immigration enforcement.
The family, who live in Colorado, said they had urged their son, who was armed with a handgun when he confronted Border Patrol officers, to be cautious if he chose to participate in protests surrounding immigration policy in Minneapolis, where tensions have risen following separate fatal encounters between federal agents and civilians.
“We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically,” Michael told the AP.
“And he said he knows that,” Michael continued. “He knew that.”
In a statement released after Pretti’s death was confirmed, they described him as a “kind-hearted soul.” They also rejected the DHS’s account of the shooting, calling the statements “sickening lies.”
“We are heartbroken but also very angry,” the statement began. “Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact.”
