Jon Stewart has become the latest celebrity to comment on Alex Pretti’s death after the 37-year-old nurse was fatally shot during a ICE protest in Minneapolis, marking the second death in the city this month.
On Saturday, January 24, Pretti was present a protest that took a turn when an officer appeared to push over a woman. He attempted to intervene and was pepper sprayed by an agent before being tackled to the ground by multiple people.
There have been conflicting reports about whether Pretti was brandishing a gun. The Department of Homeland Security claim he was which is why a federal agent shot him, but witnesses have refuted this.
People think something is ‘deeply wrong’ with Trump after hearing latest comparison between Renee Good and Alex Pretti (Fox News)
The likes of the Obamas and Clintons have spoken out about Pretti’s passing and condemned ICE’s actions.
Speaking on Monday night’s The Daily Show, Stewart said that the White House is lying about their account of what happened in the moments leading up to Pretti’s shooting and pointed out that there’s footage of what happened which appears to refute their claims.
« They’re lying. We saw it. That’s how brazen they lie when they know we’ve seen the truth, » the TV host raged. « Imagine how they lie when there’s no evidence to contradict them. »
Discussing Pretti being seen holding up his cellphone during the altercation with federal officers, and there being multiple witnesses who recorded it all, Stewart went on: « Maybe that explains why Alex Pretti really was a threat. Because he was brandishing a weapon. A handheld, aluminum, 1080p, 60fps weapon of mass illumination.
« Because there is nothing more dangerous to a regime predicated on lies than witnesses who capture the truth. »
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One Twitter user agreed with his remarks and described cellphones as ‘the scariest thing in America right now’ — not guns.
They continued to write: « Because they can shoot someone… then lie about it with a straight face — even when the video exists. That’s not ‘messaging.’ That’s a system trained to overwrite reality.
« And Stewart nails the real threat: witnesses. A phone turns their talking points into evidence. It turns ‘trust us’ into show us. »
However, others argued that it makes no difference if someone has a phone as the Trump administration still finds a way around the footage.
« We’ve caught the trump administration DOZENS of times, real red flag line in the sand stuff, » somebody said. « Nothing happens. No change, no accountability. None. »
TV host Jon Stewart has made a terrifyingly dark prediction about how the Donald Trump presidency will come to an end in 2029.
Trump returned to the White House for a second term in January, and to say many changes have come to fruition ever since is certainly an understatement.
The 47th POTUS has signed countless executive orders, including renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and a bill eradicating the Department of Education – something which has seen developments in court earlier this week.
Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, is not afraid to call out the president and has made an alarming prediction for how he believes the Trump administration will bow out.
The TV presenter went on to say he’s happy to continue hosting The Daily Show ‘until the company is bought out by people that don’t want anything to do with The Daily Show.’
« And then who the f*** knows what’s going to happen. I mean, look what they’re doing now to ’60 Minutes’ and CBS News and everything else, » he added.
« Now you can make comments about, ‘Well, I think I didn’t like the way they edited it in the way that oftentimes people don’t like the way they edited it. But it certainly doesn’t rise to the level of libel, slander, or whatever the f*** else they’re doing with a $2 billion lawsuit.
« It’s a purely subjective editorial decision, » Stewart added of Harris’ CBS interview prior to the election last November.
After calling out other media outlets in how they are cooperating with the Trump administration, Steward went on to give a bleak outlook on the future.
« So ultimately, at the end of this, does Trump burn our f***** country down for insurance money? Like where are we headed?, » he added.
As Trump reached 100 days in office last month, Stewart was quick to provide his thoughts on The Daily Show.
Stewart said: « Trump’s first 100 days is like if America landed on the moon and killed Bin Laden in the same mission! Thought you could hide on the moon, Bin Laden? Get him, boys!’ According to Trump, the most successful 100 days in the history of our country. Can anyone offer a counterpoint? »
The first lady has spoken for the first time about the fatal shooting of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, calling on the public for calm.
Melania Trump called for protesters on the street to exercise their rights peacefully, while touting her husband President Trump’s positive conversation with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, which he described as ‘a very good call’ before recalling CBP commander Greg Bovino from the state.
Bovino was one of the administration officials that called Pretti a ‘domestic terrorist’ who had attacked officers in the hours after he was shot 10 times while protecting a fallen protester in Minneapolis. This description of events does not line up with video evidence of the shooting.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, FLOTUS took a conciliatory tone, saying: « We need to unify. I’m calling for unity I know my husband the president had a great call yesterday with the governor and the mayor and they’re working together to make it peaceful and without riots.
She finished by saying: « I’m against violence, so if you protest, protest in peace. »
The first was 37-year-old mom Renee Good, shot three times, including in the head, on January 7 while attempting to drive away from ICE officials. 17 days later, Pretti was shot dead at point-blank range while helping a female protester up from the ground.
These killings have seen tens of thousands march in the streets of the Twin Cities against the continued occupation of Minnesota by federal immigration agents, with local politicians and organizations calling for an end to Trump’s month-long ‘Operation Metro Surge’.
Pretti’s parents shared more information about the ICU nurse who was killed on Saturday and pushed back against claims made about him by DHS secretary Krist Noem and CBP commander Greg Bovino.They said in a heartbroken statement: « Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman.
« 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. »
The pressure from the public appears to have caused the White House to row back on comments made about Pretti in the aftermath of his killing, including those of Noem and Bovino calling him a ‘domestic terrorist’ who had attacked officers.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that she had ‘not heard the president characterize Mr Pretti in that way.’
She said that Trump would await an investigation before commenting, adding: “However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts and the investigation lead itself.”
Witnesses who saw the moment that agents fatally shot ICE protestor Alex Pretti have weighed in on whether the 37-year-old was brandishing a gun or not in the moments leading up to his death.
On Saturday (January 24), Pretti, who was an intensive care nurse at Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was killed by federal agents after intervening during a protest.
Footage is believed to show Pretti coming to the aid of a woman whom officers pushed over before he was violently pepper-sprayed.
He was then tackled to the ground by multiple agents, and a few moments later, several shots rang out, killing him. Pretti’s death comes after the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent on January 7.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since alleged that the officers fired in defense as Pretti had a gun.
The 37-year-old was ‘a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry’, said Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara.
It’s thought that Pretti may have had his gun on him at the time of the ordeal, but he was not pointing it at law enforcement – something which witnesses have now backed up.
Two witnesses said they did not see Pretti brandish a weapon in a sworn testimony, The Guardian reports. Their names were redacted in the publicly available filings.
One of the witnesses’ harrowing statements read: « The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn’t see him touch any of them – he wasn’t even turned toward them. It didn’t look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up.
« I didn’t see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times… I don’t know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. »
« The man did not approach the agents with a gun, » she went on to say.
The second witness, a physician, echoed similar sentiments and stated that they ‘did not see [Pretti] attack the agents or brandish a weapon of any kind’.
The physician also said that they tried to get to Pretti to render medical aid after he’d been shot, but initially, they wouldn’t let her through.
When she was eventually allowed through, she claimed that officers were not checking for Pretti’s pulse but ‘appeared to be counting his bullet wounds’ instead.
When she checked him for a pulse, she sadly found none.
If you or someone you know has been affected by gun violence, please find more information and support via Survivors Empowered on their website.
President Donald Trump publicly scorned Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for the cost of an extensive building renovation as the two officials began a tour of the unfinished project.
Trump said the project cost $3.1 billion, much higher than the Fed’s $2.5 billion figure, while Powell, standing next to him, silently shook his head, before telling the president that he wasn’t ‘aware of that’, adding: « I haven’t heard that from anybody at the Fed. »
The president then pulled out a document from his pocket and handed it to Powell to read.
« This came from us? » Powell said. He then realized that Trump was referring to the renovation of the Martin Building, which had been completed five years prior.
« Do you expect any more additional cost overruns? » Trump asked, to which Powell replied: « Don’t expect them. »
The very awkward encounter has since got people talking online, with one person even comparing it to a scene from The Office.
Sharing a snippet of the heated exchange, someone said on Twitter: « This could literally pass as a scene straight from The Office. »
« INCREDIBLE, » a different person replied to the post. « I AM LITERALLY DYING OF LAUGHTER. »
Meanwhile, somebody else pointed out that it’s ‘so rare to see someone tell him he’s wrong’. »The entire video is so odd from when he walks in. » another added.
Doubling down on the The Office reference, someone commented: « Donald Trump makes Michael Scott look like a genius. »
The pair’s recent exchange comes after Trump branded Powell a ‘numbskull’ on Truth Social amid the ongoing pressure Powell’s facing from the president to lower interest rates.
While Trump berated Powell in the post, he says he doesn’t plan on firing him from his position as Chair.
Following his visit to the Fed renovation site yesterday (July 24), Trump told a reporter who questioned if Powell’s at risk of being let go, as per USA Today: « To do that is a big move and I just don’t think it’s necessary.
« And I believe he’s going to do the right thing… It may be a little too late, as the expression goes, but I believe he’s going to do the right thing. »
