Joe Biden finally comments on Minnesota ICE shootings and accuses Trump of going against nation’s ‘core values’
Former president, 82, has largely kept out of the public eye since revealing his cancer diagnosis last year
Former President Joe Biden has slammed the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, saying the shooting “betrays our most basic values as Americans.”
Biden joins fellow former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton to decry Saturday’s fatal shooting of Pretti, as well as the January 7 killing of Renee Nicole Good, calling for “full, fair and transparent investigations” into both.
“We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized,” Biden wrote in a statement on X.
He continued: “The people of Minnesota have stood strong — helping community members in unimaginable circumstances, speaking out against injustice when they see it, and holding our government accountable to the people.”
“Minnesotans have reminded us all what it is to be American, and they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration,” Biden continued, criticizing the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Biden wrote: “Violence and terror have no place in the United States of America, especially when it’s our own government targeting American citizens.”
He then appeared to directly address President Donald Trump, writing, “No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in, not even a President, if we — all of America — stand up and speak out.
“We know who we are. It’s time to show the world. More importantly, it’s time to show ourselves.”
Biden then called for investigations into the “senseless” deaths of Pretti and Good, who was shot dead as she drove away from a federal agent on January 7.
The 82-year-old former president has largely been out of the public eye since he revealed he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May.
The deaths of Pretti and Good this month have only intensified anti-ICE protests across both Minneapolis and the rest of the country. While Trump administration officials have claimed the shots were fired “defensively” against Pretti, who was legally armed, and who federal authorities said was “violently” resisting officers.
However, bystander footage appears to show Pretti holding only a phone. Pretti’s family and Democratic lawmakers have also taken issue with the Trump administration’s version of events.
Trump officials had similar responses following the death of Good, a 37-year-old mom of three who was killed after she tried driving away from federal agents during an ICE operation.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed after her death that officers were forced to fire because Good “engaged in domestic terrorism.”
Noem also said that Good rammed her vehicle into officers while leaving the scene, though this version of events has been disputed.
When asked about Pretti’s death on Tuesday, Trump expressed sympathy for his family — but also placed the blame on the ICU nurse for bringing a gun to the protest.
“You can’t walk in with guns,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. The president did not respond to a question about the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks