Trump Refuses To Back Kristi Noem's Claims About Alex Pretti Shooting As DHS Officials Turn On Homeland Security Chief

President Donald Trump has refused to back Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's claim that the shooting of nurse Alex Pretti was justified, as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials reportedly turn on the embattled cabinet member. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump repeatedly declined to say whether the Border Patrol agent who killed Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday had 'done the right thing'.

Instead, the president said his administration was 'reviewing everything and will come out with a determination'. Trump's caution stands in stark contrast to Noem's hardline rhetoric in the hours immediately following Pretti's death.

Noem's Domestic Terrorism Claims

In a press conference on Saturday evening, Noem claimed Pretti turned up 'with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation' and had committed 'an act of domestic terrorism'. The secretary made these claims despite multiple videos appearing to contradict her version of events.

'The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots,' Noem said at the press conference. 'It looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and kill law enforcement.'

Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino told reporters that Pretti intended to 'massacre' agents because he was carrying a 9mm handgun. However, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirmed that Pretti was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.

Videos Contradict Official Narrative

Multiple bystander videos appear to show an officer already holding Pretti's handgun a split second before another agent fires several rounds, contradicting Noem and DHS's initial claim that Pretti was 'violently' resisting disarmament. Verified videos show Pretti holding a mobile phone, not a gun, in his hand when agents first approached him.

Frame-by-frame analysis by the BBC and The Wall Street Journal reached the same conclusion, with videos showing Pretti's phone in his right hand and nothing in his left hand. In sworn testimony, two witnesses to the killing said Pretti did not brandish a gun.

In an interview, Trump said he 'doesn't like any shooting' but focused on the fact that Pretti arrived at the protest with what he called a 'very powerful, fully loaded gun' and spare magazines. 'I don't like any shooting. I don't like it. But I don't like it when somebody goes into a protest and he's got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn't play good either.'

Federal Officials Slam Crisis PR Disaster

Internal dissent over the Pretti narrative is reportedly boiling over within DHS. Fox News reporter Bill Melugin said he had spoken to more than half a dozen federal immigration officials who viewed DHS's messaging as 'a case study on how not to do crisis PR', and accused the department's leaders of rushing out talk of a planned 'massacre' and 'maximum damage' despite videos undercutting those claims.

Officials said the approach had 'been catastrophic from a PR and morale perspective, as it is eroding trust and credibility'. According to CNN, multiple DHS insiders were 'furious' after watching bystander footage of the shooting, saying Noem's public statements no longer match what Americans can see themselves. One official told the network: 'The department needs a law enforcement leader, not a sicko fan.'

Hardline Deputy Urges No Retreat

Hardline Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is said to be urging Trump not to back down, the Journal reported. Miller previously referred to Pretti as a 'would-be assassin' despite Pretti being a nurse without a criminal record.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stressed that 'nobody, including President Trump, wants to see people get shot or hurt', urging officials to work more closely with the administration in addressing undocumented individuals living in the country illegally.

Trump's refusal to endorse Noem's narrative represents a significant break within the administration over how to handle the fallout from two fatal shootings of American citizens in Minneapolis within three weeks. With nearly two-thirds of House Democrats now backing articles of impeachment against Noem, and internal DHS officials openly criticising their own secretary, the political damage from the Minneapolis operations appears to be mounting.