politics
January 25, 2026
The Logical End Point of Trump Saying He Could Shoot Somebody on Fifth Avenue
His administration is trying to distort the reality of Alex Pretti’s killing.
TL;DR
- Donald Trump's 2016 statement about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue without losing voters is revisited in light of a recent incident where federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
- The Trump administration labeled Pretti a "domestic terrorist" after agents shot him, even though videos suggest he was disarmed and subdued at the time of the shooting.
- The article critiques the conservative movement's dual standard on gun rights, contrasting their defense of armed protesters with their condemnation of Pretti.
- White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller's past writings on "leftwing terrorism" are cited as context for the administration's use of the "terrorist" label against political opposition.
- Allies of the administration, like the NRA and National Review, are criticized for blaming the victim and progressive politicians for the violence, rather than focusing on the actions of federal agents.
- The article argues that the administration fears citizens recording their agents' misconduct, framing the insistence that recording provokes violence as a "war on truth."
Continue reading the original article