While the world is shocked over the shooting of innocent Americans in Minneapolis, Donald Trump can only think of the criticism of his $300M ballroom.
After Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE agents, Trump’s mind seems to be elsewhere. He posted a lengthy defense of his beloved ballroom construction project just before midday on Sunday. While he was concentrating on that, his top lieutenants have appeared on the Sunday shows offering a variety of answers relating to Alex Pretti, a US citizen, who was filming ICE agents in the street, while legally carrying a concealed weapon and whether he did anything wrong.
NYC right now.
Alex Pretti’s face on a billboard in Times Square.
From “healthcare hero” to target of state violence.
They want this story buried.
The city just put it on a screen the whole world can’t ignore. pic.twitter.com/HL4ASnFH8y
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 26, 2026
According to the Daily Mail, additional plans for the new ballroom wing of the White House, which will replace the former East Wing, are set to be presented to the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts in February.
While on Sunday, America was reeling over the second ICE shooting of innocent US citizens, Trump’s mind was elsewhere. He was spewing 450 words to rail against the “Radical Left National (No!) Trust for Historic Preservation” full of so-called “preservationists,” who earn their money from the “most unusual of places” and “couldn’t care less” in his view about America.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump congratulated himself for apparently funding the ballroom construction project, planned to cost somewhere between $300 and $400 million, without taking any money from taxpayer funds, while being paid with donations from America’s business leaders.
Following his endless rant, Trump later posted about happenings in Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. His view on his Truth Social account was that the state “is a Criminal Cover Up of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!” No mention was made of the murder by ICE of Alex Pretti, or the previous murder of Renee Nicole Good. Instead, he called out the state’s Democratic leaders, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
There was a brief mention of Pretti’s shooting in one of his social media posts, accompanied by a photo of the firearm the victim was carrying when he clashed with ICE officers. According to the photos, Pretti carried a P320 AXG Combat.
The president also praised an appearance by Kentucky Republican Congressman James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee about the incident. He said that federal agents should leave Minneapolis altogether due to the heated and fatal situations officers have faced in the city. Trump said the interview was “GREAT,” while saying Comer “said it all concerning Minnesota, Deranged Jack Smith, and many other topics of interest.”
“Jamie is doing a fantastic job!” he concluded.
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures, Comer said, “If I were Trump, I would almost think there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide.”
Meanwhile, Border Patrol leader, Greg Bovino said on CNN’s State of the Union that he had attended protests armed and that he supports the rights of other individuals to do so. “I’ve done that myself and fully support that, but not when you perpetrate violence, obstruct, delay, or obfuscate border patrol in the performance of their duties,” Bovino said.
Later, Donald Trump did change his stance on the issue, writing on social media:
“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength. I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession. The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future.
He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I! We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have “touched” and, even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”
