The story didn't appear in such periodicals as Breitbart or the Blaze or National Review. Instead, quite shockingly, it appeared on Thursday in Atlantic magazine where assistant editor Marc Novicoff and Jonathan Chait went full smackdown on Newsom. The authors are both liberals but they fear that Newsom, with his disastrous record in the Golden State, is sure to cause a horrible electoral loss for the Democrats in 2028 should he become that party's presidential nominee. So fasten your seatbelts as Novicoff and Chait  sound remarkably like 2028 GOP attack ads in "Gavin Newsom’s Record Is a Problem." ...Newsom has a problem: He has been a California politician for decades, and has held the state’s governorship since 2019. During his tenure, the state has been a laboratory for some of the Democratic Party’s most politically fraught policies and instincts, which has left it less affordable and more culturally radical than it used to be. His record not only raises pressing questions about how effectively he could govern as president; it also provides opponents an endless buffet of vulnerabilities across social and economic issues. OUCH! But wait! In the very next paragraph it gets even worse! Indeed, many of Newsom’s positions read as if they were reverse-engineered from Republican attack ads. California has spent billions of dollars offering Medicaid to undocumented immigrants, and millions more on providing transgender surgeries for prisoners, some of them on death row. But because these policies either command majority support among Democratic voters or matter enormously to progressive interest groups, Newsom could very well make it through a primary despite a record that would repulse swing voters come November 2028. Just about everything people don’t like about the Democratic Party has come true in Newsom’s California. And as you gasp in amazement that this is being published in the Atlantic magazine, take a deep breath to prepare for another cascade of body blows against Newsom's poor leadership which has helped to bring about the horrendous decline of California. The state’s long-standing aversion to new construction has made housing notoriously expensive. Its median home price is nearly $1 million, and building multifamily housing costs more than twice as much in California as it does in Texas, and 50 percent more than it does in Colorado. This is one reason that California is among only seven states to have lost residents since 2020. The state’s high home prices have also driven a surge in homelessness, which has risen by more than 20 percent since Newsom took office. In the absence of shelters and other arrangements, California has allowed public spaces to host homeless encampments. The ubiquity of the state’s homelessness has become one of its most distinctive traits—a haunting tableau of its unaffordability and social disorder. If Newsom wins the nomination, Republican attack ads will inevitably roll the tape of children walking home from school past unsheltered people using drugs in public. The authors Novicoff and Chait continue in this manner, slamming Newsom as well for his disastrous illegal immigration and health care policies. It's almost too much to grasp but perhaps just one more grand slam for the road: During Newsom’s tenure, the state has flirted with various misguided education reforms in the spirit of increasing equity. The governor-appointed University of California Board of Regents committed in 2021 to ending the use of test scores in evaluating applications, in a bid to diversify the student body—despite research suggesting that test scores are perhaps the least biased part of a college application, compared with grades and personal essays. Predictably, the UC San Diego campus—one of the system’s most exclusive—has seen a 30-fold increase in students requiring remedial math instruction since 2020. About 70 percent of those students do not meet even middle-school math standards. If only there were a way of measuring their math abilities before accepting them into what was once one of America’s finest public universities. Perhaps those math-challenged students of Newsom's California can improve their skills with the proper tutoring at the "Quality Learing Center."

“When a Coat Becomes a Symbol of Conflict,” by New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, likened the dress sense of Gregory Bovino, who is in charge of Trump’s Border Patrol operations, to Hitler’s SS. First the masks, then the coat. Ever since ICE agents began to spread out across American cities, their uniforms have been points of contention.... The face masks (or buffs or gaiters or scarfs) worn by agents that hide them from the eyes of the public, or protect them, depending on the point of view, were the initial point of contention. So masks are bad now? They used to be mandatory. For years now, protesters like Antifa could mask up without being seen as menacing.   Now, as the situation in Minneapolis escalates and more and more images emerge of protesters pitted against ICE agents, another one has re-emerged: the overcoat worn by Gregory Bovino, the official in charge of President Trump’s Border Patrol operations. Known as a greatcoat, the long, double-breasted Army-green coat with wide lapels, big metallic buttons, epaulets and insignia on the arms stands out amid the sea of bomber jackets and tactical vests worn by the ICE agents around Mr. Bovino. It is impossible to ignore. And it has become a flashpoint in the online conversation about ICE, in part because its historical antecedents are also impossible to ignore. It was, after all, part of the classic military costume in World War I and II. She took her cue from online leftist hysterics, the same people who found fascist code in the universal hand gesture known “OK sign,” another witch-hunt the paper went along with in 2019). Friedman’s analysis of the leftist accusation was studiously neutral, even while Democrats were throwing Nazi labels at Republicans (so what’s new?). And while the greatcoat was worn by officers on both sides of the world wars, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur, it is closely associated with the German military under Hitler. And thus it did not take long for Mr. Bovino’s coat to become, for many viewers, a sign not just of militarization but also of tyranny — as various commentators have been quick to point out. Almost immediately, Gestapo comparisons began. Even California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, got in on the debate, adding his own post on X: “If you think the calls of fascism and authoritarianism are hyperbole, pause and watch this video.” …. The problem, said Harold James, a professor of history at Princeton University, is not necessarily the coat itself, which like many items of military garb was long ago appropriated by fashion, but the way in which Mr. Bovino is wearing it and the context in which it is worn. Or, to put it another way: The problem is the left energetically inventing a context in order to portray Bovino as a leader of fascist stormtroopers, down to his short haircut (not exactly unusual for a military man). “Using the coat to confront crowds with armed supporters, together with Bovino’s cropped hair and the (apparently) black or dark clothing underneath, gives the unmistakable whiff of dictators and of the 1930s,” Mr. James said in an email. Accessorized with black leather shoes and gold-trimmed patches, it is a look, he said, “intended to intimidate and also provoke.” Friedman linked Bovino’s greatcoat to Hitler’s own infamous security service, the Schutzstaffel, or SS. It is possible that Mr. Bovino, by wearing the highly recognizable coat and accouterments of an old-fashioned strongman, is playing to a very specific audience. Mr. Trump loves a man in uniform, as his military parade demonstrated. Even, apparently, if that uniform means that some minds go straight to the SS. Twisted leftist minds, certainly.

It increasingly appears that the Detained Kid Hoax was set to be this year’s Kids in Cages- a catalyst for media-fueled outrage with which Elitist Media would attempt to browbeat Republicans appearing on their shows. But, as demonstrated on CBS’s Face the Nation, this doesn’t always work. Watch as Brennan attempts this emotional manipulation on House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), to little effect: WATCH: Margaret Brennan tries to run the Detained Kids Hoax by Steve Scalise, gets shut down pic.twitter.com/Gil1qXy5em — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 25, 2026 MARGARET BRENNAN: ICE detained at least five kids, including five-year-old Liam Ramos, who was taken into custody by men in masks. Does this picture sound right to you? Are you comfortable with how this is being implemented? STEVE SCALISE: Let's keep in mind that the five year old's father was here illegally and was evading law enforcement and abandoned his child. ICE actually-- BRENNAN:  --the family-- SCALISE: --protected the child-- BRENNAN: --The family disputes that. The administration has a problem with the previous administration's legal system for asylum, that's- they don't like the app he used to file for asylum. [CROSSTALK] SCALISE: Well, Joe- Joe Biden allowed-- BRENNAN: --And they dispute that he fled--. SCALISE: --millions of people to come into our country illegally, including very violent people, Margaret-- BRENNAN: --But they are retroactively trying to change the legality of the status-- SCALISE: --people from prisons in other countries. President Trump was elected. The number one issue last year was President Trump saying-- BRENNAN: --Absolutely-- SCALISE: -- I'm going to secure the border, and he's doing it. But also he's removing violent people. 416,000-- BRENNAN: --The father did not have a criminal record of any kind of violence-- SCALISE: --criminals- illegals have been arrested by ICE. It could be reasonably argued that the entire interview was an exercise in emotional manipulation. Brennan opened the interview by tying the current unrest to the shooting at a baseball field that nearly ended Scalise’s life. On the one hand, she’s right- they were both perpetrated by radical leftists. On the other- Minnesota is about ongoing efforts to impede the implementation of federal law. Scalise rightly ignored Brennan’s frame and proceeded to respond to her question. Brennan tried to pin Scalise down on polling and on the Second Amendment (expect a lot of media concern trolling on 2A), to no avail. Each time, Scalise would circle back to the unique circumstances of Minnesota’s troubles. Scalise also brought up the massive fraud investigation, which was barely covered (beyond CBS) to begin with, and has now disappeared from the news. It is then that the interview closes with one final exchange, precipitated by Brennan’s citation of the Detained Kids Hoax. It is public knowledge by now that the children are not actual ICE targets, but the unfortunate victims of their parents’ actions. In the case of Liam, the oft-mentioned 5-year-old, ICE cared for him because no one else in the household stepped forward to take custody. Per reports, the agents took him to McDonald’s, fed him, and cared for him until his father requested they be kept together. And they are now together in a least-restrictive family detention facility. This is very favorably comparable with what happens to the children of U.S. citizens arrested by law enforcement. In those cases, the child is held until custody is sorted out. But there are times when the child goes into CPS custody. This is an angle not often mentioned in the media, and viewers are left to believe that this is some unique phenomena. Scalise handled both Brennan and the Detained Kids Hoax. As we’ve previously stated, much of the coverage of events in Minneapolis appears to be designed to shape opinion rather than inform it. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned interview as aired on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, January 25th, 2026: BRENNAN: And we turn now to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who joins us from New Orleans. Good morning to you.  STEVE SCALISE: Good morning, Margaret.  BRENNAN: I know in addition to being a leader in Congress, you have this unique experience of having been the victim of political violence yourself. You know how dangerous rhetoric can be. We've heard a lot of anger in the past 24 hours, and your fellow Louisianan Senator Bill Cassidy said the events in Minneapolis are not only incredibly disturbing, but the credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. He called for a joint federal and state investigation. Would you join his call? SCALISE: Well, I don't question the credibility of ICE. They're doing an incredibly hard job. They're- look we are all, just feel sorry about what happened in Minneapolis. And this has happened over and over again. I mean, I'm not just talking about regarding ICE. I mean, they've got some failed local leadership. They let their city burn down years ago. They have chaos, it seems like all the time in places where other cities don't. ICE is operating in a lot of cities, Margaret, and you don't have these kind of incidents in any other city but Minneapolis--  BRENNAN: -- You don't- don't see these numbers either?-- .  SCALISE: -- and so, I wish yesterday didn't happen. What's that?  BRENNAN: You don't see these numbers either, though, when we looked at, for example, at the federal response in New Orleans. I mean, it's just a fraction of the number of federal agents. Nearly 3,000 is quite a lot for a city the size of Minneapolis. SCALISE: Well, that's because they didn't get resistance in cities like New Orleans, where, you know, when you look in Minneapolis, and I just listened to the chief, and you could hear him lamenting four times, I think he said that they're strapped so thin. And let's keep in mind, Minneapolis is a city that defunded their police. That's not the chief's fault. That's the failed Democrat leader's fault. But at the same time, when they defund the police, that leaves the chief stretched thin. And so he- was made a decision not to assist ICE-- . BRENNAN: -- He was talking- he was talking to- dealing with the federal issues. Because when you look at the Minnesota database, shooting victims down 76%, homicides down 67%, burglary down 39% year-to-date, sex offenses down, robberies down, motor vehicle theft is up. So he was talking about the response- the deal that they have now, that the stretch they have now dealing with the federal agents who are there.  SCALISE: Well, but remember, these agents have also arrested thousands of violent criminals in Minneapolis. That's one of the reasons that crime is down, and we're seeing that across the country. ICE- look again, anytime something bad happens, we all lament that. I wish it didn't happen. But the rhetoric does need to be toned down, but we also need to remember, why is ICE doing this in cities? They're enforcing federal law, Margaret. The law says you can't be here illegally and if you're committing violent crimes. The President made it clear, in fact, he was elected. President Trump was elected to get rid of criminals in our communities. 416,000 criminals have been arrested by ICE just in the last year. That has helped make our communities safer. BRENNAN: Well, it's interesting you bring up the politics of this, because undoubtedly, the President was elected on the platform of immigration enforcement. There was a lot of support for it. But our latest poll shows more than half of Americans say ICE is making communities less safe, almost two thirds of Americans say they dislike the President's approach to his deportation program. There is not public support for the way this policy is being implemented. Do you think there needs to be a reassessment? SCALISE: Well, if you asked people in a poll, do you want violent criminals that are here illegally in your community? Yes or no? What do you think the answer is going to be? I will tell you, overwhelmingly, they will say, please get the violent criminals out. In fact, you're seeing that on the ground in many, many cities where they are cooperating with ICE, where they don't have sanctuary city policies, and where you don't see by the way, people going in the streets breaking the law to interfere with law enforcement, which is a felony. BRENNAN: You have been a supporter of the Second Amendment. When Secretary Noem says, "I don't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammo rather than a sign." Do you believe Americans have the right to bear arms while they're protesting? SCALISE: Well, first of all, I'm a co-sponsor of Louisiana's law that allows you to have a concealed carry permit. It's worked very well there. I don't know the state law in Minnesota. I know in a state like Louisiana, and frankly, most states, you are not allowed to carry a gun while you're committing another crime and interfering with law enforcement is a felony. It's something that, unfortunately, we're seeing in a lot of cities. You even had the police chief yesterday, Chief O'Hara, that you just had on, yesterday said of the protests going on after the shooting, that they were unlawful. Yes, he actually said it was an unlawful assembly, what a lot of people are doing. And they were throwing things at ICE agents. Throwing projectiles that could harm ICE agents--  BRENNAN: -- Yeah, he wasn't talking about the victim --  SCALISE: -- So, let's tone this down. And-and leaders in Minnesota, by the way, have been ratcheting up the rhetoric. I mean, you saw the governor, Governor Walz said they're Gestapo. He said they're violently hurting people. BRENNAN: I'm going to have to take this commercial break and let you finish the thought on the other side of it. If you could stay with us, Leader, we have more questions. We'll be right back.  [COMMERCIAL BREAK]  BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Leader, we have seen a letter that Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to Governor Walz out in Minnesota, offering to end the federal surge if the state does a number of things, among them giving access to the food assistance programs and voter registration logs. What's the purpose of that? What's the intent? SCALISE: Well, I haven't read that letter between Pam Bondi and the governor, but I know that we are investigating tens of billions of dollars of potential fraud coming out of Minnesota. There have been hearings that have already been held. We have a lot of whistle blowers talking to us about major theft of taxpayer money coming out of Minnesota, and these are stealing programs from learning centers, from disabled students, programs that are being stolen, and the Governor did nothing about it. Congress is--  BRENNAN:-- But voter registration logs?--  SCALISE: -- Investigating that aggressively.  BRENNAN: As a conservative, doesn't that make you a little uncomfortable that they're demanding the state hand- hand over voter registration logs like, what's the purpose of that to end ICE enforcement? SCALISE: Well, I haven't seen the letter. I know- I know we're trying in Congress to deal with putting laws on the books that will make sure that we protect the integrity of the vote nationwide. States like Minnesota have had problems with voter integrity. We want a national standard, the SAVE Act, which makes sure illegals can't vote, but also making sure you show a picture ID. Those are things we're pushing for that's across the board federally. BRENNAN: Non-citizens cannot vote. But I want to ask you ICE- about all the things that have happened this week, even before that shooting in Minnesota. ICE has said his officers can go into homes without judicial warrants. ICE shot unarmed Renee Good, as you know, claimed that she was a domestic terrorist. An FBI agent resigned after she was ordered not to investigate the officer who shot her. ICE detained at least five kids, including five-year-old Liam Ramos, who was taken into custody by men in masks. Does this picture sound right to you? Are you comfortable with how this is being implemented? SCALISE: Let's keep in mind that the five year old's father was here illegally and was evading law enforcement and abandoned his child. ICE actually-- BRENNAN:  --the family-- SCALISE: --protected the child-- BRENNAN: --The family disputes that. The administration has a problem with the previous administration's legal system for asylum, that's- they don't like the app he used to file for asylum. [CROSSTALK] SCALISE: Well, Joe- Joe Biden allowed-- BRENNAN: --And they dispute that he fled--. SCALISE: --millions of people to come into our country illegally, including very violent people, Margaret-- BRENNAN: --But they are retroactively trying to change the legality of the status-- SCALISE: --people from prisons in other countries. President Trump was elected. The number one issue last year was President Trump saying-- BRENNAN: --Absolutely-- SCALISE: -- I'm going to secure the border, and he's doing it. But also he's removing violent people. 416,000-- BRENNAN: --The father did not have a criminal record of any kind of violence-- SCALISE: --criminals- illegals have been arrested by ICE. 416,000 have been arrested by ICE. These are very bad people, by the way-- BRENNAN: 47% of ICE detainees have criminal charges or convictions. 47%. SCALISE: --ICE just put up a website. Not ICE, Homeland Security, worst of the worst DHS. Go Google worst of the worst DHS. State by state, they show you all the people that have been picked up in each state. Your state, you can find out horrible people, murderers, rapists, that they picked up that would be on the street-- BRENNAN: --That doesn't apply to the father or five-year-old Liam-- SCALISE: --today if President Trump wasn't securing this country. BRENNAN: --or the two year old who was separated from her mother.  SCALISE: --that father was here illegally and abandoned his child-- BRENNAN: They are not the worst of the worst, are they? SCALISE:  --Go look at the website. It shows you who they picked up-- BRENNAN: --Are they the worst of the worst, sir? SCALISE: 416,000 people with violent criminal records. These are people- and by the way, America today has the lowest murder rate that we've had since 1900 in part because of President Trump's actions to get these violent people off our streets. 416,000 have been removed. Do you want them still out on our streets?  BRENNAN: No. SCALISE: I don't think most people do. BRENNAN: No and I don't think--  SCALISE: --This is a hard job ICE has. BRENNAN: --They do, indeed-- SCALISE: And local law enforcement, local officials, the mayor, the governor, should not be encouraging people to go out on the streets and break the law by interfering with law enforcement. That's a felony to interfere with law enforcement-- BRENNAN: --And American citizens are concerned about American citizens being shot, and that's why we are asking the questions-- SCALISE: Yeah, and we don't have that chaos in other cities. BRENNAN: -about the tax payer funded federal-- SCALISE: --Minneapolis has its own problems--  BRENNAN: Okay. SCALISE: --failed leadership that has led to a lot of this, and it's unfortunate it happened. I wish it didn't happen. Their failed leaders need to look in the mirror and tone it down. BRENNAN: I have to go next to our next guest. Leader Steve Scalise, thank you for your time today.  

It has become increasingly evident that the Elitist Media have gone all in on the organized leftwing chaos currently underway in Minnesota, and have devoted themselves to shaping public perception accordingly as opposed to simply reporting the news. No other conclusion could reasonably be reached after a review of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press. There were many dubious questions laced throughout the interview, but this was arguably the worst- whether the death of U.S. citizens is simply the price to pay for immigration enforcement: WATCH: NBC's Kristen Welker with the most disgusting question of the Minnesota cycle- "Is the death of U.S. citizens a price the Trump administration is willing to pay to carry out its immigration policies? (I don't recall hearing this asked of any Biden official RE: the deaths… pic.twitter.com/BOyPPcZhZk — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 25, 2026 KRISTEN WELKER: But let me ask, just big picture, Mr. Blanche, is the death of U.S. citizens a price the Trump administration is willing to pay to carry out its immigration policies? TODD BLANCHE: What does that have to do with whether it was a U.S. citizen or not? Any death is wrong. WELKER: Well, two of the deaths were U.S. citizens -- BLANCHE: Any death should not happen in law enforcement. WELKER: But two of the people killed were U.S. citizens. President Trump said his goal was to deport the “worst of the worst” people. My question for you is, is this part of the collateral damage, something that the administration is willing to accept as a part of its crackdown on people who are here illegally? BLANCHE: It shouldn’t be. It should not be. And you don’t see it anywhere in this country. I’m very confused about why the conversation’s about what you’re talking about instead of focusing on what really matters, which is why, in one city, in one place, do we have these problems. We deport ten times the number of illegal aliens out of Texas than we do out of Minneapolis. Why do we hear nothing out of Texas about any of the same problems that we have in Minneapolis? I’ll tell you why. Because in Texas we have the cooperation and support of local law enforcement so that we can do these operations safely, keeping U.S. citizens and others protected and safe. That is not what we have in Minneapolis. And the fact that it’s the administration that’s being blamed for the utter failure of leadership in Minneapolis is not right, it’s not appropriate, and it’s also not true-- WELKER: But are you saying those officers bear responsibility, those federal officers who fired ten shots yesterday bear no responsibility for the death of this 37-year-old ICU nurse? BLANCHE: I did not say that. Don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t say that. I said there’s an investigation ongoing. But I said that the story and the narrative around this cannot be just those officers that were forced to do what they had to do yesterday to keep the operation going as it should go, without any support. That has to be the narrative, that has to be what we’re talking about. And the fact that the only thing we’re talking about is somehow blaming officers, blaming the federal men that were on the scene that day, and not looking at why it happened, not looking at why it’s only in Minneapolis that we see this violence, we are missing the narrative and missing what we should be talking about. If ever you needed proof evident of a double standard in news media, this is it. One does not recall anyone, much less Kristen Welker of all people, asking anyone in the Biden administration whether the deaths of Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, et. al were the price that the administration was willing to pay to carry out their immigration policy. But, as we often point out: if it weren’t for double standards, there’d be none at all.  This was less an interview than a struggle session which one suspects was always in the books. It is highly likely that Blanche was set to have been grilled about the “detained” five-year-old, but the shooting took precedence. There was always going to be this performance.  At this point there are many legitimate questions about the shooting, which Blanche made abundantly clear is under an ongoing federal investigation. Welker didn’t seem interested in asking any of those, instead choosing to gaslight and launch shaped narratives.  Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned interview as aired on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, January 25th, 2026: KRISTEN WELKER: And joining me now is Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Mr. Blanche, welcome back to Meet the Press. TODD BLANCHE: Good morning. WELKER: Good morning. Thank you for being here. I do want to start by watching one of those videos of the shooting. And again, I do want to warn our viewers, this is disturbing. Take a look. (Video of the shooting of Alex Pretti) WELKER: Mr. Blanche, the administration spent all day Saturday arguing that Alex Pretti posed a threat to law enforcement. What exactly do you see in that video that posed a threat to law enforcement? BLANCHE: Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t see. And I don’t see protesting happening. And this narrative that what was happening on that yesterday morning was protesting interrupted by ICE is not what we see. I also do not see a single state and local law enforcement officer there to help. And that should be the narrative that we’re talking about, is that what we have is ICE doing isolated operations to get criminals off the street, with zero cooperation from the governor, from leadership in Congress, or from the mayor. And so when you see what we just observed, was that peaceful protesting? Of course not. That was a very violent occurrence because ICE cannot do their job effectively when law enforcement — local law enforcement refuses to help. And that is what is so tragic about what happened yesterday and what’s been happening in Minneapolis for the past several weeks, is that ICE is doing all of this work, doing their jobs, and local law enforcement are not being allowed to do a single thing to help. And that is dangerous, as we saw yesterday morning. WELKER: Mr. Blanche, respectfully, there are only 600 police officers in Minneapolis. There are 3,000 ICE agents. Local officials there say it strains credulity to think that they can back up every ICE official. But I want to stick to the video and what happened yesterday, the specifics of it. What exactly threatened those law enforcement officials? Did at any point Mr. Pretti brandish a gun? BLANCHE: I can see the same video that everybody else can see. It’s been analyzed up and down for the past 24 hours. But there’s obviously an investigation that’s ongoing. Secretary Noem talked about that yesterday, which is what we would expect anytime a tragedy like this occurs. But I disagree with you when you say, “What was there that looked as if there was a confrontation that was –” We don’t know what happened in the minutes leading up to what we just watched. We don’t know what ICE saw, what ICE heard. That’s part of the investigation that’s going to be happening. But what we did not see, again, and we cannot avoid this conversation. What we did not see is a single cop helping with that isolated, targeted effort by ICE to arrest a criminal. WELKER: Did – BLANCHE: And you’re right, there are three — go ahead, sorry. WELKER: Did you see him at any point brandish a gun? Have you been told by law enforcement there on the ground that at any point he brandished a gun, that he threatened them with a gun? The video shows he’s holding up a cell phone. BLANCHE: No, you can’t see everything that’s happening. I mean, what you do see is you see several ICE officers surrounding him. You see a violent interaction with the man who was shot. And so we don’t know. The video — no matter how many times you look at it, no matter how many different angles that we see, there’s a lot that we don’t see. And that’s exactly why you have to have an investigation, which is exactly what DHS is doing, and exactly what we would hope that they would do. But you can’t tell exactly what happened. It was a very instant, violent — law enforcement, ICE has a very tough job. It is very hard when they’re walking, trying to do their job, and there are agitators and rioters everywhere. These men and women are not protesting. They are not peacefully protesting. They are trying to impede and obstruct ICE, and it makes the job that our men and women have to do virtually impossible to do without interactions like that. And yes, yesterday’s shooting was a tragedy, and yes, we feel a ton of sympathy for the family and friends of the deceased. But make no mistake about it, this was entirely avoidable if we had a governor, if we had a mayor, if we had leadership in Washington and over in Minnesota that actually cared about their citizens. WELKER: Mr. Blanche – BLANCHE: This should never have happened because there would be law enforcement on the streets helping ICE. WELKER: Mr. Blanche, I just want to stay on this. The local officials do say Alex Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. The video seems to show at one moment an officer removing a gun in the seconds before Mr. Pretti was shot. Was he disarmed before those shots were fired? BLANCHE: I do not know, and nobody else knows, either. That’s why we’re doing an investigation. It does appear that he was armed. I have heard the same thing you have, that he was lawfully armed, and that’s something that’s important in this country, and there’s nothing wrong with anybody lawfully carrying firearms. But whether he was disarmed, or whether he pulled the gun on law enforcement, whether law enforcement saw him go for the gun, what they have to do is they have to protect themselves. They have to protect the public around them, and we’ll see what happens. But just make no mistake about it, this was an incredibly split-second decision that had to be made by ICE officers confronting a very complicated, violent situation with not a single local law enforcement officer in sight. WELKER: Well, Alex Pretti, I mean, he is a member of the public. He’s a resident there. I mean, this is an American citizen. He’s an ICU nurse at a VA hospital. He appears to be shot some ten times. There are a group of law enforcement officials who pummel him, who spray tear gas at him, pepper spray. Why shouldn’t every American be bothered by what they see in this video, Mr. Blanche? Are you bothered by what you see in this video? BLANCHE: Absolutely. Every American should be bothered. But what should they be bothered by? They should be bothered that ICE is going on an isolated arrest to arrest a criminal, and they have zero support from law enforcement. The narrative here cannot -- WELKER: But shouldn’t they be able to make decisions on their own, Mr. Blanche? BLANCHE: What happened yesterday -- WELKER: You’re talking about state and local officials, and that is a debate worth having. What, if any, support are they getting? But in that instance, should they be able to make a decision about how to respond on their own? And if they can’t, should they not be in that position in the first place? BLANCHE: They make decisions all day, every day. There are 3,000 ICE officers in one city. We have tens of thousands of ICE officers all over the country. They make very difficult decisions all day, every day, trying to protect the American people. And what we see all over the country — save a few sanctuary cities like Minneapolis — is we see cooperation and support. And so the reason why we don’t see this violence all over the country is because in every single jurisdiction — save a few, like Minneapolis — there is cooperation. You work together with local law enforcement. Police are there to assist with crowd control, and rioters, and the violent acts that we see happening. And again, this is not a peaceful protest. He was not protesting peacefully. He was interrupting an ICE operation – WELKER: Please finish. BLANCHE: He was interrupting an ICE operation, and that led to a very tragic occurrence that every single person in this country hoped did not happen. But make no mistake about it, you cannot look at a ten-second video and judge what happened. You have to look at it from a full, full situation of what’s been happening in Minneapolis for the past several weeks, which is a simple fact. One city in this country do we have these problems. One city, and that’s Minneapolis. WELKER: But Mr. Blanche, you’re -- BLANCHE: That’s not a reflection of ICE, that’s a reflection of that city. WELKER: You’re saying he wasn’t protesting peacefully, and yet the video before shows him holding up a cell phone, directing traffic. The video after shows him being pummeled by these law enforcement. Everyone has now seen this video across the country, with this man holding up a cell phone. And part of the outrage that people are expressing is that they feel as though the federal government is asking them to believe something that they don’t see with their own two eyes. Is that what the administration is asking of the American people, to believe that he was violent when the video, based on what everyone has seen so far, does not show that? BLANCHE: Well, first of all, I did not say he was violent. I said he was not protesting peacefully. And you just described what every American has seen, which is video, shortly ahead of the incident, where he was screaming in the face of ICE. He had a phone up right into ICE’s face. You tell me, is that protesting peacefully? I mean, we all see the same thing. I mean, you shouldn’t try to gaslight the administration about what happened. That was not a peaceful protest. And yes, what happened afterwards is tragic. It is horrible. It is heartbreaking. But make no mistake about it, that would’ve never happened, that would’ve never happened — and it doesn’t happen in cities around this country every single day — but for the complete failure, the complete failure by the mayor and by the governor to do anything — to do anything to protect their citizens. They park their officers blocks and blocks away while they just let ICE go, and they let citizens just come and do whatever they want to try to torment and to try to agitate officers doing their job. WELKER: Mr. Blanche, this shooting happened Saturday morning. Mere hours later, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others labeled Mr. Pretti a domestic terrorist. His family released a statement that reads in part, quote, “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand, and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed.” What is your response to his family? BLANCHE: My response is that we are — we have nothing but sympathy for the family of him. We do. But make no mistake, this is an investigation that’s ongoing. And long before Secretary Noem took the stage yesterday, the mayor and the governor took their own narrative and said a bunch of things that were just as false, just as misleading, and just as horrible as anything that we’ve heard over the past month. And so we will do everything that we need to do to protect the men and women of ICE when the state and local government refuse to do so. And so yes, we are sympathetic, President Trump is sympathetic, the attorney general is sympathetic, ICE is sympathetic. Nobody wants any lives to be taken. But we are doing very important work in very difficult circumstances to make this country safe. There was an isolated arrest effort yesterday to arrest somebody that did not belong in this country, he’s here illegally, and he’s a convicted felon. They should be able to — ICE should be able to do that with cooperation and support, not with what we saw happening yesterday. WELKER: But let me ask, just big picture, Mr. Blanche, is the death of U.S. citizens a price the Trump administration is willing to pay to carry out its immigration policies? BLANCHE: What does that have to do with whether it was a U.S. citizen or not? Any death is wrong. WELKER: Well, two of the deaths were U.S. citizens -- BLANCHE: Any death should not happen in law enforcement. WELKER: But two of the people killed were U.S. citizens. President Trump said his goal was to deport the “worst of the worst” people. My question for you is, is this part of the collateral damage, something that the administration is willing to accept as a part of its crackdown on people who are here illegally? BLANCHE: It shouldn’t be. It should not be. And you don’t see it anywhere in this country. I’m very confused about why the conversation’s about what you’re talking about instead of focusing on what really matters, which is why, in one city, in one place, do we have these problems. We deport ten times the number of illegal aliens out of Texas than we do out of Minneapolis. Why do we hear nothing out of Texas about any of the same problems that we have in Minneapolis? I’ll tell you why. Because in Texas we have the cooperation and support of local law enforcement so that we can do these operations safely, keeping U.S. citizens and others protected and safe. That is not what we have in Minneapolis. And the fact that it’s the administration that’s being blamed for the utter failure of leadership in Minneapolis is not right, it’s not appropriate, and it’s also not true -- WELKER: But are you saying those officers bear responsibility, those federal officers who fired ten shots yesterday bear no responsibility for the death of this 37-year-old ICU nurse? BLANCHE: I did not say that. Don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t say that. I said there’s an investigation ongoing. But I said that the story and the narrative around this cannot be just those officers that were forced to do what they had to do yesterday to keep the operation going as it should go, without any support. That has to be the narrative, that has to be what we’re talking about. And the fact that the only thing we’re talking about is somehow blaming officers, blaming the federal men that were on the scene that day, and not looking at why it happened, not looking at why it’s only in Minneapolis that we see this violence, we are missing the narrative and missing what we should be talking about. WELKER: That’s the broader backdrop debate. But let me talk to you more broadly about the actions of federal agents in Minnesota this week. I want you to look at these pictures, Mr. Blanche: a protester on the ground being pepper-sprayed; a five-year-old being detained; a U.S. citizen being pulled out of his home half-naked, later released upon determination that he was wrongfully detained. Are federal agents acting humanely, Mr. Blanche? BLANCHE: Yes. Our agents are acting humanely. Their jobs are very, very difficult. It is a very difficult place to be, going out and trying to arrest these violent felons with no support from local law enforcement, with no support from the governor. Remember, there’s a much easier way to do this. When these violent criminals who are here illegally are ready to get out of prison, the mayor could just let us know, we could go get them from prison and deport them. They refuse to do that. And so the result of that is that ICE officers have to go out onto the streets and make arrests, and that is tough work. These are very difficult times. And it is something where you see thousands of arrests, and you’ve identified two or three things that are pointed to as being wrong, or being too aggressive, or not being appropriate. That’s not fair to the men and women that are doing this every day. WELKER: Again, there are 600 police officers in Minneapolis, compared to 3,000 ICE agents. I do want to shift gears, though. I want to ask you quickly about the Epstein files. When you were here back in December, you said the Justice Department will comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Quote — you said, “Next week and the week after.” DOJ is now 37 days past the statute’s December 19 deadline. Less than 1% of the files have been released. So Mr. Blanche, when will all of the Epstein files be released? BLANCHE: Look, we’ve been working literally seven days a week to go through all the materials. But there is nothing more important than protecting the victims, and that means that every single page that we’re going to release, we have to lay eyes on and make sure that we’re redacting all appropriate information. We will not rush that process. We will not risk victim information being released. And I would hope that Congress doesn’t want us to do that. And I would expect that they expect us to do our jobs. And so we have over 500 Department of Justice lawyers working on it every day. I expect that we will see — we will see the release of the materials soon. WELKER: So when will it be released? Soon? How soon? BLANCHE: Well, listen, there are millions and millions of pages we’re looking at, and I’m not going to create an artificial deadline that I then miss for our men and women that are working on it. But we’re working on it very hard. And when we know a date of release, we’ll let the public know and let Congress know. But it is soon. It is very soon. We’ve been working on it now for over a month, reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages over the course of every few days. And we’re continuing to do that. WELKER: All right, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Thank you so much for your time this morning. We really appreciate it. BLANCHE: Thank you, Kristen.  

The Washington Post on Saturday demonstrated the heartfelt belief of liberal journalists that protests are only legitimate and newsworthy if they advance liberal goals. Conservative protests are somehow illegitimate and inauthentic. Friday brought a perfect test of whether they could cover a newsworthy protest on both sides, and the the Post failed it miserably. Anyone who spent $4 on a paper on Saturday would find absolutely nothing on the “March for Life” anywhere in what they bought. But the top of the front page carried this headline: Anti-ICE protests escalate in Minn. THOUSANDS MARCH: BUSINESSES CLOSE Show of dissent is largest vs. immigration policies Next to that was a large (four-column) color picture displaying hundreds of protesters. The story had a byline with five reporters, and gushed at the leftist hootenanny with these front-page paragraphs: MINNEAPOLIS — Thousands of people converged at a downtown park on Friday afternoon in the state’s biggest show of opposition yet to the Trump administration’s immigration operations in Minnesota, braving subzero temperatures and skipping work and school. Hundreds of businesses in the Twin Cities closed for the day of action, an effort organized by faith leaders and labor unions amid continuing tensions over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in the state, including the fatal shooting of Renée Good by an ICE officer earlier this month. On Friday morning, about 100 clergy members were arrested at a peaceful sit-in at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport protesting deportation flights. Labor leaders said more than 15,600 people had claimed tickets to the 2 p.m. march in Minneapolis — where the National Weather Service warned of minus-50 degree wind chill through Sunday morning. Bundled in down coats, beanies and ski goggles, demonstrators chanted “What do we want? ICE out!” and held signs bearing slogans such as “No MN Nice for ICE” and “Leave Us Alone!” as they marched peacefully.  “This rally says it all. We’re fighting for truth and freedom,” said Mary Turner, a night-shift nurse in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, and a union member who joined the march. Thousands of people converged on Capitol Hill on Friday afternoon in opposition to the killing of unborn children, braving winter weather and skipping work and school. The Washington Post ignored that as non-news, suggesting they should have all stayed home. But the leftists were awarded 30 paragraphs and two more large color photographs inside, because the Post is a Democrat rag manufactured for a Democrat audience.  To add comedy to this proceeding, the only other story on page A-7 was also about an anti-ICE protest:  Federal authorities wanted to charge Don Lemon. Here's what happened. Considering the obvious Post front-page bias, I also picked up Saturday's New York Times. The front page had a story on "Heaps of Dead Protesters In Iran," and the anti-ICE rally in Minnesota was reported with color photos on page A-10. The "March for Life" at least appeared, considering Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at the rally before the March. On page A-13, the headline was "Trump Widens Abortion Rule For Recipients of Foreign Aid." The Trump administration will expand the “Mexico City rule,” which bars recipients of United States foreign aid from promoting abortion, to include a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion policies or “radical gender ideologies,” Vice President JD Vance announced on Friday. Mr. Vance made the announcement, which had been expected, during a speech at the annual March for Life in Washington. The policy change is the Trump administration’s latest attack on what President Trump and his aides call “woke ideology” at home and abroad. It could affect more than $30 billion in foreign assistance.