Even Hannity questions Kristi Noem for calling Alex Pretti a ‘terrorist’: Was that ‘premature’?

Fox News host and close Trump confidant Sean Hannity confronted embattled Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem Thursday night, asking her if it was “premature” to describe Alex Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” who drew a gun on immigration enforcement agents prior to being shot 10 times.

The mild grilling from one of Donald Trump’s most loyal media allies comes as Noem has faced intense scrutiny over her response to the fatal shooting of Pretti amid her department’s brutal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, prompting Democrats to call for her impeachment and even some Republicans to demand her firing.

Noem’s appearance on Hannity’s primetime program also came just hours after the president skipped over her during his monthly Cabinet meeting. Meanwhile, it appears that Noem has largely been sidelined – along with Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino – in Minnesota for border czar Tom Homan, who admitted immigration enforcement operations haven’t been perfect in the state.

The DHS head has also attempted to blame her assertion that Pretti – who was disarmed by federal officers before he was shot multiple times – was a “domestic terrorist” looking to murder law enforcement. Trump’s aide Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s mass deportation campaign, initially described Pretti – a 37-year-old ICU nurse and US citizen – as a “would-be assassin,” has pointed the finger at CBP and claimed his initial remarks were based on DHS information.

With outrage still brewing over the shooting and video evidence fully contradicting the administration’s early account, Hannity brought on Noem to press her about her response to the killing and the criticism she has faced over her actions.

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Noting that DHS initially claimed that Pretti approached federal officers with a handgun and the shooting occurred because the agents feared for their safety, Hannity pointed out that videos showed “that the weapon may have been stripped before that happened,” wondering if the department’s statement was "premature."

Noem, for her part, attempted to dodge that question and laid the blame on the “chaotic” situation on the ground after Pretti was shot dead.

“Well Sean, I know you realize that that situation was very chaotic and that we were being relayed information from on the ground from CBP agents and officers that were there,’ she said. “We were using the best information we had at the time, seeking to be transparent with the American people and get them what we knew to be true on the ground.”

While grumbling about “politicians pouring gasoline on what is already a difficult situation” and crediting Trump for wanting a “full investigation” of the shooting, Hannity also noted that Miller recently conceded that “some protocols were not followed” and wondered if there were “any lessons to be learned” going forward.

“Well Sean, that’s part of the reason why we have several layers of an investigation here,” Noem reacted. “We believe we can always do better and we seek to do that every day. We want to make sure that we not only improve protocols on the ground in chaotic and volatile situations like this.”

Hannity then moved on to Noem’s repeated use of the term "domestic terrorism” to label recent victims of ICE and CBP shootings. Though Hannity appeared to justify that terminology for Renee Good, insisting that was a “clear-cut” case because Good “accelerated” her vehicle into an ICE officer and caused “internal bleeding” (citing a highly criticized report by CBS News), he said it was a “bit different” for Pretti.

“People seem to be upset over the term domestic terrorism. Why do you believe that is appropriate? You used it in both cases,” Hannity wondered.

Once again sidestepping the Fox News star’s question, Noem ended up casting the blame on the previous administration.

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“Well Sean, we are continuing to gather information and the FBI leading this investigation is important to make sure that we talk about both of these situations appropriately,” the DHS chief declared. “In the Renee Good situation, you know, we have more information as it happened previously and we will continue to get to the truth of all of this.”

She added: “But we cannot distract from the fact of how we got here and we got here because we had a Biden Administration that allowed an invasion over our southern border and allowed millions of people to come into our country unvetted.”

Ultimately, though, MAGA anger over Noem may eventually subside as it appears the president is now embracing the right-wing narrative that Pretti was a violent radical whose killing was justified due to his previous activities.

In the wake of new videos showing Pretti – 11 days before he was killed – kicking a government vehicle before being tackled to the ground by federal agents, Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Friday morning to cast the dead nurse as an “insurrectionist” who deserved little sympathy.

“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,” the president claimed. “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!”