Donald Trump has been heavily criticized for a ‘disgusting’ social media post about Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 24.
Trump’s post on his own Truth Social platform saw him lay into the deceased ICU nurse in a way that many believed was totally out of order.
Alex Pretti was the second person killed in Minneapolis during ICE crackdown
Pretti was shot and killed by several federal agents while protesting against ICE activity in the city.
He had been involved in another incident with ICE agents some days earlier, and more details continue to emerge as the case develops.
Trump and his allies were initially slammed for their response to the killings - as with the killing of Renee Good just days before - and Vice President JD Vance was even branded a ‘sick f***’ for comments he made in the aftermath.
Now, Trump has made yet another post on Truth Social that has drawn widespread criticism and disbelief from some quarters.
Donald Trump’s Truth Social post slammed
The tone of the post seems to be what has riled most people, as Trump used several loaded terms to describe the dead protestor.
What’s more, he seemed to discuss it in a way that was quite off-hand for talking about someone who has been repeatedly shot and killed by agents.
Referring to video footage that has emerged of a previous encounter between Pretti and ICE, Trump wrote: “Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist, Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces.
“It was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control.
“The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances!”
He concluded: “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
However, a lot of people weren’t happy with the President’s remarks.
One comment read: “Trump just called Alex Pretti an insurrectionist.
“He is defaming a dead man who was murdered in front of the entire country. Disgusting.”
A second wrote: ”Moments like this are exactly why Trump is such a toxic and vile human.
“Individuals from any administration should be careful with accusations like that.
“It’s disrespectful and does real harm regardless of politics.”
A third wrote: “America will never be great again. It will take generations to recover from Trump.”
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Donald and Melania Trump spoke out after the shooting
Both the President and his wife Melania spoke out after the killing of Pretti, with the First Lady calling for peace and unity.
However, Trump’s comments have not always been so measured, and he received some criticism for saying he felt worse for the parents of Renee Good because they were Trump supporters.
He did also confirm that a major investigation had begun into the death of Pretti and the circumstances that led to the shooting, but that status of that investigation is as yet unknown.