White House officials sought to rapidly distance Donald Trump and top officials from their initial portrayals of the man fatally shot by federal officials in Minnesota as a gunman, as they faced a deepening backlash after video footage was widely seen to undercut their assertions. “I have not heard the president characterize Mr Pretti in that way,” Leavitt said. The move suggested a repudiation of Noem, to whom Bovino reports, who has been at odds with Homan for months. “This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders for weeks,” Leavitt said. But it underscored the peril of rushing to blame the victim and defend the agents before an investigation had played out.

Source: The Guardian January 27, 2026 14:24 UTC