Donald Trump is facing a fierce backlash after defending an ICE officer who shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis - and blaming the victim instead.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot dead just a few blocks from her home on Wednesday morning (January 7), per the Independent.
Graphic footage shared online shows an ICE officer trying to open the door of a woman’s car as she attempts to drive away.
A second officer then fires, fatally shooting Good, whose vehicle continues down the street before crashing into a parked car.
Politicians condemn shooting as ‘criminal murder’
The fatal incident has triggered national outrage, with political leaders and citizens calling it an avoidable tragedy, per the Telegraph.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn’t hold back, calling it a “public murder” and accusing ICE of executing a woman trying to escape.
"What we saw today was a criminal murder a woman and shoot her in the head while she was trying to escape and flee for her life,” she said.
She went on to describe the shooting as the “manifestation of every American’s worst nightmare.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey echoed the fury during a press conference held hours after the shooting.
“There’s little I can say, again, that'll make this situation better,” Frey began. “But I do have a message for our community, for our city, and I have a message for ICE."
“To ICE, get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” he said. “They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust.”
“They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets and in this case quite literally killing people,” he continued.
Frey also rejected any attempt to frame the shooting as self-defense, adding: “They are already trying to spin this as an action of self defense. Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bullsh*t.”
Trump defends ICE, calls woman a ‘professional agitator’
But while many politicians expressed horror, President Donald Trump had a different take - blaming the woman who was killed and portraying ICE as the victim.
“I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing, and resisting, who then violently, wilfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense.”
“Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital,” he added.
“The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE agents on a daily basis.”
He finished by calling for Americans to stand by ICE and law enforcement.
“They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Internet divided over the president’s reaction
Trump’s comments sparked intense backlash online, with many accusing him of excusing what they believe to be a clear misuse of force.
“You are a horrible disgusting disgrace to humanity,” one person wrote. Another added: “He’s never going to admit to doing anything wrong. Ever.”
Still, not everyone disagreed with Trump’s take. Some users came to the defense of law enforcement and the ICE officer involved.
“When law enforcement tells you to stop repeatedly you STOP,” one supporter posted. “This isn’t new, we learn this in elementary school. This kind of s*** doesn’t need to happen.”
Homeland Security backs ICE officer’s actions
The Department of Homeland Security also issued a statement defending the ICE officer, echoing Trump’s claim that the shooting was in self-defense.
“Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them - an act of domestic terrorism,” the statement read.
“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.
"The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.”
They continued: “This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement who are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats.
“This is an evolving situation, and we will give the public more information as soon as it becomes available.”