Amid fallout from Saturday’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis man by border agents, President Donald Trump‘s mind appears to be on other matters.
Trump posted a lengthy defense of his prized ballroom construction project just before noon on Sunday as a number of his top lieutenants made the rounds on the Sunday shows, offering varying answers on whether or not Alex Pretti, a US citizen who was filming the Border Patrol agents on the street while legally carrying a concealed weapon, did anything wrong.
Further plans for the new ballroom wing of the White House, being constructed on the ground that formerly housed the East Wing, will be presented to the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts next month in February.
Trump devoted 450 words Sunday to railing about the ‘Radical Left National (No!)Trust for Historic Preservation,’ full of ‘so-called “preservationists,” who get their money from the most unusual of places’ and ‘couldn’t care less’ about America in his view.
He additionally patted himself on the back for reportedly funding the construction project, which is planned to cost between $300 and $400 million without a single dollar of taxpayer funds, but with donations from America’s business leaders.
After his lengthy rant, the president later posted about Minnesota on Sunday afternoon, noting on his Truth Social account that the state ‘is a Criminal Cover Up of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!’
Over the last few days, Trump has repeatedly tied his posts about Minnesota to fraud and has called out the state’s Democratic leaders, including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Only one of his posts directly referenced the shooting of Pretti, and that post was a photo of the firearm the victim allegedly had on him when he clashed with border patrol officers.
Trump devoted 450 words Sunday to railing about efforts to stop his ballroom project
The construction of U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom is seen on January 12, 2026 in an aerial view
Pretti was armed with P320 AXG Combat, photographs revealed. The high-end custom variant of the weapon allegedly holds three 21-round magazines and retails for upwards of $1,300.
Trump also praised an appearance by Kentucky Republican Congressman James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee about the incident, and went as far as to say that federal agents should leave Minneapolis altogether because of the heated, fatal situations officers have encountered in the city.
The president called the interview ‘GREAT’, adding that Comer ‘said it all concerning Minnesota, Deranged Jack Smith, and many other topics of interest.’
‘Jamie is doing a fantastic job!’ Trump concluded.
Comer told Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo: ‘If I were Trump, I would almost think…there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide.’
Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC this week that he’s never gone to a protest with a gun, instead opting for a billboard.
Border Patrol leader Greg Bovino, however, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union that he himself had attended a protest armed and that he supports individuals’ ability to do the same.
‘I’ve done that myself and fully support that, but not when you perpetrate violence, obstruct, delay, or obfuscate border patrol in the performance of their duties,’ Bovino noted.
