This Is Not Sustainable

A man was killed, and things are an absolute mess because of Trump's desire for chaos and disorder

Did you ever work for or with someone who tried to create problems at work when none existed? Those moments at a workplace where everything is copacetic, and the gears are turning without noise, are rare. And then that person comes along, tosses a grenade, creates a huge mess, and takes satisfaction in doing so.

That is Donald Trump. The engine of America chugging along doesn’t work for him. It’s more than just being the center of attention (which he craves, obviously). It’s the unmistakable desire he has for chaos and disorder.

Look at what happened with Greenland. I don’t think Trump or any military brass ever seriously entertained the idea of invading Greenland to take over. Still, Trump was more than willing to let people think he would. And what happened? It roiled markets, and it created a further rift with our NATO allies. All the while, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are clinking champagne glasses. Remember, we don’t need to fight a war with either of those countries. They benefit from the disorder Trump creates.

What’s happening in Minneapolis is another prime example. Look, federal law enforcement agencies such as ICE have every right to enforce the laws. President Obama was nicknamed the “Deporter-In-Chief” because of how many people his administration deported. Immigration groups pleaded with the administration to stop illegal immigration raids conducted by ICE.

But what the Obama administration did not do was send agents trained for 50 days into a powder keg of a situation and let them roam wild. And yes, Tim Walz and that nitwit Jacob Frey have not helped the situation with their hostile attitudes and their advocating for people to be nuisances to federal law enforcement.

None of that matters.

A man was killed by ICE agents, and before any investigation took place, before any facts were in, and before anyone was interviewed, the administration came out and accused this man, Alex Pretti, who had no criminal record, of wanting to “murder” federal agents. Kristi Noem said, “an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.” Yeah, he was carrying a firearm, but he did not approach them with it in his hand. He clearly did not have the gun in his hand, and he did not have possession of the gun when he was shot.

Pretti was an ICU nurse at a VA hospital and was legally carrying his firearm. Now, one can question his judgment for carrying a gun in such a turbulent situation. But that is a matter of debate that is irrelevant to his First and Second Amendment rights. What the Trump administration is doing is what Second Amendment advocates like myself have accused Democrats of doing for years: attempting to create an environment of fear by making it seem as though a law-abiding person carrying a firearm is a threat by dint of their existence.

It’s complete bullshit. “He had a gun with two fully loaded magazines.” So what? Who cares? There is nothing wrong with that at all. It might be unnecessary for self-defense purposes on a normal day, but even so, that doesn’t matter. He was legally allowed to carry, and he had a constitutional right to possess a firearm. Period.

You can question Pretti’s choices all day long. None of it is relevant to how things went down and the final result. Even if, ultimately, it turns out the shooting was legally justified because of the circumstances and what agents said and when they said it, the idea that Pretti was a “threat” merely because he was carrying is 100% wrong.

Look at this from Stephen Miller:

It is grotesque. He’s slandering a dead man by calling him an “assassin” and claiming he actually attempted to murder federal agents.

More here:

This is utter nonsense. Complete nonsense. Then it descends into comically stupid:

Two organizations that called out his BS original statement? The NRA and GOA (Gun Owners of America). Nothing says “Antifa” like those two. Great job, moron.

The FBI Director got in on the asininity as well.

Yes, people actually can.

The speed at which the administration tried to not only justify the shooting, but also smear Pretti is a horrifying abuse of power. Accusing Pretti of being a threat or saying his goal was to “murder” federal agents merely for exercising his constitutional right to carry a firearm is just appalling.

I primarily avoided social media over the weekend because I knew what it would look like, and there is little point in trying to reason on platforms that thrive on sniping and school-grade insults, particularly when emotions are running high.

However, this morning, as I finished writing this newsletter, I saw on the Wall Street Journal's home page that Trump is taking an entirely different tone. He said the administration is “reviewing everything" and that ICE agents will “at some point” leave the area. Granted, it’s not like he sat there and contemplated the events. He’s an idiot, but he’s not stupid. He knows this one is bad, and he will attempt to save face for his own sake. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Alex Pretti.

As for the Trump lackeys and throne sniffers who are taking up for the likes of Miller, Patel, and Noem and bleating out their drivel about Pretti carrying a gun? Get stuck, fools. Is the notion that “bringing a gun to a protest” is an aberration and crossing the line of decency? If so, I remind you of this: