Trump rants about ‘paid agitators’ when questioned about Minnesota shooting victim Renee Nicole Good

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump lashed out at what he called a “paid agitator” when asked about Renee Nicole Good. Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minnesota.

Trump made the remarks during a question-and-answer session with US oil executives on January 9. The meeting focused on the future of Venezuela’s energy reserves. His comments came as the fatal shooting continues to draw public and political backlash.

How did Trump respond to a question about Renee Nicole Good?

During the Q&A session in the White House, the reporter said, “In Minnesota, the vice president suggested that Renee Good, who was killed by this ICE officer, was part of a broad left-wing network.” The reporter then asked, “What has your team told you about this broad left-wing network? Who is in charge of it? Who is part of it? What is it called?”

Trump said he had not seen the vice president’s statement but called him “generally very accurate.” He added, “Look, I watched that yesterday, and there’s a lot of different forms to it” referring to the viral videos of the shooting.

Trump said, “There was a woman screaming, “Shame! shame! shame!” She was an agitator. Probably a paid agitator. But, in my opinion, she was an agitator. A very high-level agitator. So professional. She wouldn’t stop screaming."

He continued, “I said 'this isn’t a normal situation. This is a professional troublemaker.' Cause you heard it and I had it. I will say this: The news sort of turned her down, turned her off, because you’re trying to watch — she was so loud and so crazy, and just not normal.”

Trump added, “When somebody sees something like that, they don’t go screaming and screaming and the same words. So, I guess you could say, professional, but I didn’t think she did a very good job."

He went on to say, “You have agitators, but we’ll always be protecting ICE, we’re always gonna be protecting our border patrol, and our law enforcement.” Notably, Trump's comments did not make it clear whether he was referring to Renee Good or someone else. Good herself was not heard on any videos screaming or yelling, “Shame!"

What did JD Vance say about the new ICE shooting video?

After a new video showing another angle of the Minneapolis ICE shooting spread on social media and was widely shared by Vice President JD Vance, the reporter pressed the White House.

Vance posted the clip on X and wrote, “Watch this, as hard as it is,” defending the ICE officer’s actions and saying the officer’s life was endangered and he fired in self-defense. "Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman. The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared during the press conference, "The deadly incident that took place in Minnesota yesterday occurred as a result of a larger, sinister left-wing movement that’s spread across our country where our brave men and women of federal law enforcement are under organized attack."

In the video recorded by ICE officer Jonathan Ross and released Friday, Good can be heard calmly saying, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you,” before she appears to pull her car forward.

The ICE agent then shouted, “Get out of the car. Get out of the f****n’ car,” before Good tried to drive away. The officer fired three shots into her vehicle, striking her. Another agent can be heard using a derogatory slur after the shooting as her van crashed into a telephone pole.

Good’s death has sparked protests and a national debate over the circumstances of the shooting and the government’s public narrative.