1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

The king of “deny, deny, deny,” can no longer deny that the untenable situation in Minneapolis is a disaster of his own making. Just days after the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Trump has done a complete 180, abandoning the “never admit defeat” playbook that included characterizing Pretti as a domestic terrorist, and gaslighting America into ignoring video evidence we all saw with our own eyes. Now, Trump is mired in chaos of his own making, and he’s spiraling trying to get out. We have him not quite admitting defeat, but at least implying he’s made some mistakes. In a Fox News interview, Trump said, “We’re going to de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota. He contradicted his own administration officials, saying he actually didn’t believe Pretti approached ICE agents as an “assassin,” as Stephen Miller claimed within hours of the killing. Granted, he couldn’t help himself to not blame the victim. His qualifier, “You can’t have guns,’’ and “you can’t walk in with guns,’’ had the NRA and gun rights activists upset. I can’t imagine the January 6 traitors appreciate that one, either. Despite the spin, Trump took some steps that show you he knows exactly how bad this is for him. He turned on Border Patrol commander at large Greg Bovino, gave him the boot, and called him “a pretty out there kind of guy. In some cases it’s good. Maybe it’s not good here.” He pulled Bovino and sent Border Czar Tom "Cashbag" Homan in to presumably triage the mess. Trump had a “productive”phone call with Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey, who are both under a frivolous federal investigation at his urging as of just a few days ago. He even acknowledged the humanity of the victims, saying “I think the whole thing is terrible. I don’t like that he was carrying a gun.” Trump even went so far as to promise a “very honorable and honest investigation,” but he has proven time and time again you can't believe anything he says.