Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama called the death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minnesota “a heartbreaking tragedy” and said it should serve as a “wake-up call to every American.”
Current President Donald Trump instead painted Pretti as a terrorist who had a loaded gun and was “ready to go.”
The contrast between the two presidents is evident in social media posts by both this weekend.
Instead of standing up for Pretti and other Minnesotans and launching an investigation into the ICE agent who riddled Pretti with bullets on Saturday, Trump instead distracted his followers choosing to harp on the supposed coverup of billions of dollars he claims was stolen from the state and pinning the blame on so-called “corrupt politicians” who he says are preventing police from protecting ICE agents.
Just one day after the senseless murder, Trump proved once again how out of touch he is with Americans, using his his social media platform to boast, again, about his $300 million ballroom: “I’m building, on top of everything else that I am doing, one of the greatest and most beautiful ballrooms anywhere in the world, with more than 300 million dollars of great American Patriots’ money.”
The statement by the Obamas, on the other hand, is a master class in how most a president should respond to the second senseless death in Minneapolis.
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“This has to stop,” the Obamas wrote.
“In the meantime, every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country. They are a timely reminder that ultimately it’s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”
Full statement from Barack and Michelle Obama
“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
“Federal law enforcement and immigration agents have a tough job. But Americans expect them to carry out their duties in a lawful, accountable way, and to work with, rather than against, state and local officials to ensure public safety.
“That’s not what we’re seeing in Minnesota. In fact, we’re seeing the opposite.
“For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.
“These unprecedented tactics – which even the former top lawyer of the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration has characterized as embarrassing, lawless and cruel – have now resulted in the fatal shootings of two U.S citizens.”
“And yet rather than trying to impose some semblance of discipline and accountability over the agents they’ve deployed, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation – and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence.
“This has to stop. I would hope that after this most recent tragedy, administration officials will reconsider their approach, and start finding ways to work constructively with Governor Walz and Mayor Frey as well as state and local police to avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.
“In the meantime, every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country. They are a timely reminder that ultimately it’s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”
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Crystal Graham
