The fear of the narcissist – and another incident at the US-Mexico border

Donald Trump is suddenly speaking of clarification. Of decency. Of an “honest” investigation. After the fatal shooting of the demonstrator and ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the president said on Tuesday that a “major investigation” was underway, one he would personally keep an eye on. He wanted to see it himself, Trump said while leaving the White House, and he expected an “honorable and honest” reckoning. These words mark an abrupt break with the tone his administration had struck only shortly before. Senior officials had portrayed Pretti immediately after the shooting as a dangerous extremist, as an internal enemy, as a threat. Videos from the scene clearly contradicted that account. They showed no armed attacker, but a man holding a mobile phone, helping a woman, before he himself was taken to the ground by officers and shot. Only afterward did the White House begin to backtrack.

The president had his spokesperson explain that they wanted to create distance from the early, escalating statements of individual members of the administration. Trump’s own words are part of this damage control, something he seemed to have already forgotten. They do not come out of nowhere. Pressure is growing - not only from Democrats, civil rights groups, investigative journalists, but also from within the Republican camp and from prominent advocates of gun rights. It is precisely there that the Pretti case is causing unease, because a man was killed who legally owned a firearm but apparently did not draw it. For many, this is an attack on exactly those freedoms Trump’s coalition otherwise invokes. He has already been labeled a traitor there, the midterm elections are approaching, and poll numbers continue to fall.

“I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I need to see it myself.” (Whatever that may look like - editorial note)

While the tone in Washington is softening, the situation on the ground remains tense. Immigration officers were again active throughout the Twin Cities metro area on Tuesday. We kept a close eye on it. In particular, whether their tactics have actually changed following the shift in tone from the White House remains unclear. The operation continues, as do the images of armed federal officers in residential neighborhoods.

At the same time, the political reaction is intensifying. The Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, publicly went on the offensive. The country was disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security had done, he said. The violence unleashed by this agency against the American population had to end. Jeffries called for the immediate dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Otherwise, impeachment proceedings would be initiated in the House.

“They took [redacted].
Please respond.
ICE took [redacted]. They came to our door with papers and took them away.”

The fact that such a threat is even being voiced shows the scale of the rupture. Trump’s administration is no longer facing criticism only from outside, but a crisis of its own narrative. For months, a hard, militarized enforcement of immigration law was sold as a guarantee of security. Now two fatal shootings in Minneapolis loom large - and a growing doubt about whether this strategy protects or escalates.

And it continues almost seamlessly: near the US-Mexico border, there was another firearms incident today involving the Border Patrol. In Arivaca in southern Arizona, a person was shot and, according to authorities, is in critical condition. The incident occurred about 16 kilometers north of the border, in a rural community that has for years repeatedly been the scene of Border Patrol operations. According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, a Border Patrol officer was involved in the shooting, as was a suspect. Further details about how the incident unfolded were not initially made public. The sheriff’s office said it was working together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI and Customs and Border Protection to clarify the incident.

The injured person was treated at the scene and then taken into custody. The Santa Rita Fire District said care was transferred to a medical evacuation helicopter, which transported the critically injured person to a regional trauma center. Neither the Border Patrol nor the FBI initially responded to requests for further details. The incident adds to a growing number of cases along the border in which the use of firearms raises questions about procedure, proportionality, and transparency.

“You raise your voice, I erase your voice.” - So the tone hasn’t really changed

Trump’s call for an “honest investigation” looks less like leadership against this backdrop than like fear. The question is no longer whether he is paying attention, but whether the system he has built is still controllable at all. Because every new revelation, every new video, every contradictory statement eats away at a piece of the credibility that was supposed to sustain this policy. And that is precisely why the demand for clarification has long since become more than a formality. It is the last attempt to politically contain a violence spiral that has spun out of control, and in the end, what remains is the fear of the narcissist.