Updated Jan. 27, 2026, 7:54 p.m. ET
DES MOINES — President Donald Trump said he wants to “de-escalate” the explosive situation in Minnesota after federal agents fatally shot two people in recent weeks, insisting a shakeup in leadership of his immigration enforcement team in the state was not a “pullback” by the administration.
The Trump administration has been reeling from intense backlash to its operations in Minnesota after federal agents killed Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti this month. The president sent Tom Homan, his border czar, to take over the Minnesota operation led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino.
Immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota have generated heavy criticism, and Trump indicated during a Fox News interview before a speech in Clive, Iowa, that Bovino’s “out there” approach wasn’t right for the situation.
“Bovino is very good,” Trump said. “But he’s a pretty out there kind of a guy, and in some cases, that’s good maybe it wasn’t good here.”
Trump also said during the interview that he wants to take down the temperature as protesters clash with federal agents in the streets of Minneapolis, a chaotic scene punctuated by the pair of shocking deaths that have gripped the nation.
“We’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” the president said.
Trump changed course in Minneapolis after federal agents shot Pretti on Jan. 24, toning down his rhetoric and speaking with Democratic leadership in Minnesota as he retreated from the confrontational approach that has characterized his immigration enforcement efforts. The president said in a social media post that he recently spoke to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whom he repeatedly has criticized, and that they now seem “to be on a similar wavelength.”
Homan met with Democratic leadership in Minnesota on Jan. 27.
Walz’s office said afterwards that the governor advocated for an independent investigation into the shootings and greatly reducing the number of federal agents in the state.
“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday,” Walz’s office said in a statement.
Protester: ‘I’m here because of Renee Good’
The deaths of Pretti and Good, both 37, have led to protests and pushback from lawmakers on ICE operations in Minnesota, with more Republicans speaking out after Pretti, a nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs, was killed over the weekend.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the venue where Trump spoke in Iowa, with some saying they came out because of concerns about what was happening in Minneapolis.
Olga Gonzalez, 52, of Ames, was handing out sandwiches and water she prepared at home before driving down with two of her sons. Gonzalez said the killings were personal for her.”As a mother, I’m here because of Renee Good,” she said. Good was killed in her car shortly after dropping off her child at school.
Trump administration officials slammed Pretti after his death, with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller calling him a “would-be assassin” and a “domestic terrorist. Noem later suggested Pretti was engaged in domestic terrorism.
Trump on leadership shakeup: ‘I shake up teams’
But the White House subsequently has sought to distance Trump from the comments. The president, during an appearance at an Iowa business before his speech, said “I haven’t heard that” when asked by reporters about Miller and Noem’s description of Pretti.
While Trump called Pretti’s death a “very unfortunate incident,” he also continued to question the fact that he was carrying a gun, which he was legally permitted to have and did not brandish when confronted by authorities.
“I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines,” said Trump, who has long expressed support for the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Trump continued to express confidence in Noem on Jan. 27, telling reporters he won’t ask her to step down amid bipartisan calls for her departure, even as he made it clear that Homan is now running the show in Minneapolis and reports “directly to me.”
Trump’s pivot on Minneapolis is notable for a leader who often is reluctant to change course in the face of criticism. It comes as polling shows most Americans believe his deportation efforts are going too far, and Trump’s approval rating on immigration, one of his signature issues, has dropped.
The president sought to downplay his changing approach when asked about his leadership shakeup in Minnesota.
“I do that all the time. I shake up teams,” Trump told reporters after visiting with customers at the Machine Shed in Urbandale on Jan. 27 before a speech. “Everybody here, there’s are a lot of owners of farmers and places, and you shake up your team — if they can’t do the crops fast enough. Look, we have an incredible team.”
‘I hope you remember us for the midterms’
Trump had considerable turnover during his first administration, but there has been more stability in his leadership team since he won reelection. Trump later said in the Fox interview that the leadership change is not a “pullback.”
“It’s a little bit of a change,” he said.
Trump’s trip to Iowa offered him an opportunity to change the subject, and he largely stayed on topic during a speech at the Horizon Events Center in Clive that lasted just under an hour, focusing on his economic agenda amid lingering cost-of-living concerns. The president argued that his Democratic predecessor’s policies were pricing Americans out.
“Remember, the first part of the year, actually, you could say almost the first year, I was fixing the country from the horror show that we inherited,” he said.
Trump seemed to relish being back in Iowa, the first state he won in his initial long-shot bid for the presidency. He reminisced about his earlier victories there, and twice teased another presidential bid despite being constitutionally term-limited from running again.
The president also made his most forceful pitch yet for the midterm elections, telling rallygoers: “I hope you remember us for the midterms.”
If the GOP loses the 2026 elections, he said, it would “lead to very bad things” happening, invoking the tax cuts Republicans passed. “You got to get out and vote,” Trump implored his supporters.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Nick El Hajj, The Des Moines Register
