Trump calls Minnesota ICE shooting ‘sad to see on both sides,’ strikes more measured tone

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump struck a noticeably more measured tone this week when addressing the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, calling the incident “sad to see on both sides” while stopping short of retracting earlier remarks that blamed protesters.

Trump’s comments came during a wide-ranging exclusive interview with an outlet in the Oval Office and marked a subtle shift from his initial reaction to the shooting, which has sparked nationwide protests and intensified scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement tactics.

Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot on January 7 by ICE officer Jonathan Ross during a confrontation in Minneapolis. The incident occurred shortly after Trump ordered the deployment of more than 2,000 federal officers to Minnesota as part of a broader immigration enforcement surge.

Trump calls the shooting ‘unfortunate’ in Oval Office interview’

During the interview, Trump described the shooting as “unfortunate,” a notably softer response compared to earlier statements from senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, and Trump’s own initial comments.

“I don’t get into right or wrong,” Trump said. “I know that it was a tough situation to be in.”

He added that there was “very little respect shown to the police, in this case, the ICE officers,” signaling continued support for federal agents even as he acknowledged the gravity of the outcome.

On his Truth Social, shortly after the shooting, Trump called Good “a professional agitator” who “violently, wilfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer”, saying it appeared the officer shot her in self-defence.

Trump’s comments contrasted with his immediate reaction on social media following the shooting. On Truth Social, he referred to Good as a “professional agitator” and echoed the government’s claim that she had allegedly run over an ICE officer’s leg, prompting the shooting.

“This isn’t a normal situation,” Trump wrote at the time, calling Good a “professional troublemaker” and suggesting the officer acted in self-defense.

Trump says he will wait before weighing in on possible charges

When asked whether he would consider pardoning Ross if the officer were charged and convicted, Trump declined to speculate, saying he would wait for the legal process to unfold.

“I think that we’re gonna have to see what happens,” he said. “That was a very unfortunate incident. We’re just going to see what happens.”

Federal agents are rarely charged by state authorities for actions taken in the line of duty, though local officials in Minnesota have questioned the self-defense claim and are pushing for greater transparency from federal investigators.

Despite the controversy, Trump made clear he has no intention of scaling back ICE operations in major US cities, even as those crackdowns continue to provoke public backlash and violent confrontations.

Minneapolis shooting triggers political and public backlash

The killing of Good has drawn sharp criticism from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who rejected ICE’s account of events and called for accountability. Protests erupted across the city, with demonstrators demanding an independent investigation and limits on federal enforcement actions.

Trump, however, maintained his broader stance on immigration enforcement, signaling that while his rhetoric may have softened, his policy direction remains unchanged.