After facing a lot of backlash for enforcing such an aggressive immigration crackdown, Donald Trump has finally shared his views on the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE. In a recent discussion, the US President admitted that the ICE-related deaths were unfortunate incidents, before emphasizing that the two people who lost their lives as a result were “no angels.”
Donald Trump comments on Renee Good and Alex Pretti
During his interview with NBC News anchor Tom Llamas before the 2026 Super Bowl match-up, the POTUS reflected on the tragic deaths of the two civilians.
“He was not an angel, and she was not an angel,” Donald Trump remarked during the NBC Nightly News exclusive. Notably, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, passed away following a confrontation with an ICE agent on January 24. Similarly, Renee Macklin Good lost her life after being fatally shot by an ICE operative on January 7 in Minneapolis. The deaths even inspired Bruce Springsteen to compose an anti-ICE song.
Meanwhile, Trump’s administration had previously justified Good’s death by stating that she was involved in incidents of “domestic terrorism.” Furthermore, they explained Pretti’s death by noting that the ICU nurse had “brandished” a gun (via The Independent).
While Trump did not completely abandon the narrative forwarded by his administration, he did express regret about the duo’s tragic deaths. “I’m not happy with what happened there. Nobody can be happy, and ICE wasn’t happy either,” he said.
The businessman-turned-politician even added, “It should not have happened. It was a very sad incident, two incidents.” However, he later backed his approach on dealing with immigration, stating, “I’m always going to be with our great people of law enforcement. We have to back them. If we don’t back them, we don’t have a country.”
However, the two-time US President did confess that his administration lacked the finesse to deal with the public. “What happens is that I think we do a phenomenal job. But I don’t think we’re good at public relations,” Donald Trump explained. Moreover, he admitted that his administration could use a “softer touch” in its immigration policies.
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on Mandatory.
