When a reporter asked Trump on Thursday evening whether or not he would be drawing back in Minneapolis, he responded: “Well, we want to keep our country safe. We’ll do whatever we can to keep our country safe.”
“So, not pulling back?” the reporter asked.
“No, no, not at all,” the president said.
This stands in stark contrast to what his administration has said this week.
After federal agents killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, Senate Democrats had threatened a government shutdown over the inclusion of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding and, within it, a historic increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) budget.
Seemingly in response, the Trump administration scrambled to claw back some of its messaging.
The White House reneged on top officials’ comments calling Pretti an “assassin” and “terrorist,” and the administration booted Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino from his position overseeing the raid in Minneapolis. The new chief of Operation Metro Surge, “border czar” Tom Homan, assured the media that the operation was going to “draw down.” Trump himself said on Tuesday that “we’re going to deescalate a little bit” in Minneapolis.
And, for good measure, Trump administration insiders leaked some stories to the media about turmoil within Trump’s cabinet about immigration policy.
Just hours after Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) announced that they had reached a deal to avert a shutdown, however, Trump changed his tune. That deal, which would give DHS two weeks of funding to operate while negotiations are ongoing, was announced Thursday afternoon.
Trump’s comments lend credence to critics who said that the administration was only posturing about deescalating while never planning to do so.
The Senate still hasn’t passed the funding package due to some Republican holdouts. However, other Republicans have framed the negotiations as a win — and critics have slammed the deal as one that disproportionately benefits Trump.
The threat of a government shutdown was a major leverage point for Democrats. It would begin this weekend, just a week after federal agents’ killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, giving Democrats power over Republicans to extract concessions on the Trump administration’s ICE operation.
Trump was desperate to avoid it — especially after his party shouldered much of the blame for the historically long shutdown last year. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday evening, he lauded the package.
Meanwhile, critics have slammed Schumer for the deal, which only buys Republicans time to distance themselves from the Pretti killing and continue the administration’s raids in Minneapolis and other cities unhindered.
“Leader Schumer should ask the Minnesotans who are watching their neighbors get killed in cold blood if a deal with no plan to stop ICE is enough right now,” said MoveOn Civic Action.
Chuck Schumer is not the main problem. He was elected Senate minority leader by the rest of the Democrats in the Senate and he could be removed by the rest of the Democrats in the Senate if they wanted to. The problem is that they don't want to because they support what he's doing.
You cannot vote out the problem, when the system is the problem. As we've seen from the recent Trump(Epstein) Files, the legal system exists to protect the ultra wealthy. The FBI has known about Trump's activities since the 90's and have done nothing to prosecute him.
You can't bring down The Master's House with The Master's Tools. We want change, justices, and liberty then we have to be willing to tear down the system The Oligarchs have built for themselves to keep the rest of us enslaved.
Believing otherwise is just a waste of energy and effort at this point.
This is the main problem https://www.trackaipac.com/congress
The problem is unfortunately much, much larger than just AIPAC. The problem is the system itself. If you somehow defeat AIPAC, another lobbyist group would take its place. The entire system must be changed completely, a process known as revolution
Campaign Finance Reform is the issue from which ALL other issues flow.
I would argue racism is the root of all the other issues. Organization like The Council For National Policy and the Heritage foundation are hate organizations that have been in operation for many, many decades, they have the support of politicians and billionaires. Alot of people hate other people based on the color of their skin.
Donating to campaigns is the heart of lobbying/bribery, and until we take money out of campaigns, and tightly regulate campaign speech, we will NEVER move past this quagmire we are in, and address any other problems we have.
Many problems will simply evaporate when wealthy bad-faith actors can't use their money to buy politicians and offices.
Democrats are holding voters hostage, and are wielding the republicans like a weapon.
First Past The Post voting is the issue.
This is where I would usually link a bunch of videos on the flaws of FPTP, and alternative electoral systems that do not contain a spoiler effect. That time has passed us by. Good luck everyone.
It's also the issue Obama said would probably never see change because the people who benefit from it are the only ones who can change it.
That's what Trump is doing.
Actively using the infrastucture that exists- to cause misery, death, and pain for the express reason of causing such- isn't a revolution.
Yes it is.
No, it's called "suppression" or "tyranny"
No - it's a political revolution. He's attempting (and in some ways succeeding) to change the government.
I'm reminded of the Muse lyrics:
the problem is not israel. pull your head out for a minute
Exactly. We the people elected lots of worthless Democrats by voting blue-no-matter-who, and those worthless Democrats elected Chuck Schumer as Most Worthless Democrat.