White House shifts response to Minneapolis shooting after bipartisan outrage

Geoff Bennett:

Let's look now at some of the political fallout from the immigration crackdown and fatal shooting in Minnesota.

Amna Nawaz:

At the White House today, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a somewhat different message than administration officials did over the weekend.

Our own Liz Landers was in the Briefing Room and she joins us now from the White House.

So, Liz, when it comes to the shooting and killing of Alex Pretti, what did we hear from the White House today?

Liz Landers:

Yes, Amna, as you mentioned, a very different tone coming out of the White House, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt this afternoon, when talking about the shooting that occurred over the weekend, especially when you compare that to what we heard from administration officials on Saturday and Sunday.

The White House press secretary today calling Alex Pretti's death a tragedy, saying that President Trump never wants to see Americans shot and killed in the streets. And when she was asked if the president thought that the shooting was a mistake, this is what she had to say:

Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary:

Again, the president has said we have to review it and this investigation needs to continue. And he's letting the facts and the investigation lead itself.

Liz Landers:

Those investigations are being conducted right now by the FBI and by Homeland Security themselves.

There's also an internal investigation that Customs and Border Patrol is also undertaking. And, Amna, one of the main sort of differences that we heard today from Leavitt at the podium was specifically some of the comments that Kristi Noem and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had made in the press and online over the weekend.

She was asked if the president thought that Pretti had committed a domestic act of terrorism or that he was an assassin. Leavitt said: "I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way."

Amna Nawaz:

Liz, we also heard the president announced he's going to send his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis, and that Homan's going to report directly to him. What do we know about what Homan will be doing on the ground there?

Liz Landers:

Right.

So, Tom Homan, the border czar, is on his way this evening to Minneapolis. And we heard from the president in just the last few moments that he has connected on the phone with the Minneapolis mayor and with the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, talking about Homan's role on the ground there.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in today's briefing that he is there to coordinate with the state and local authorities to achieve this cooperation and she said to subdue the chaos on the streets of Minneapolis.

Governor Walz, though, was Pretti pointed still this afternoon in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he had talking about the administration and saying that they are lying about Minnesota not coordinating with deporting some of these criminal illegal aliens who are here in the United States.

He said: "This assault on our communities is not necessary to enforce our immigration laws. We don't have to choose between open borders and whatever the hell this is. Mr. Trump can and must end this unlawful, violent and chaotic campaign."

You're seeing from Minnesota officials, the Department of Corrections there saying and fact-checking 68 false claims that they say that the Department of Homeland Security is putting out there about them not cooperating with detaining people that they have found here in the United States who are here illegally that they have arrested -- Amna.

Amna Nawaz:

All right, that's our Liz Landers reporting live from the White House tonight.

Liz, thank you.