https://www.lewrockwell.com/2026/01/no_author/you-cant-have-guns-trump-deepens-second-amendment-rift-after-minneapolis-shooting/

By Veronika Kyrylenko
The New American
January 31, 2026

President Donald Trump sharply altered the public narrative on Tuesday, saying that Alex Pretti, the man shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, “shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.” Earlier that day, when asked about the shootings, he said, “You can’t walk in with guns. You just can’t.” The comments marked a departure from earlier administration rhetoric that focused on Pretti’s alleged criminal intent and supposed confrontations with law enforcement. The administration faced fierce reaction from gun-rights advocates and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who argue the stance conflicts with both Second and First Amendment protections.

Trump’s Remarks

On Tuesday afternoon, President Trump faced reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.

One asked if Trump believed Alex Pretti was “acting as an assassin in Minneapolis.” The question was a reference to the description of Pretti by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who branded Pretti a “would-be assassin [who] tried to murder federal law enforcement.”

After clarifying whom the reporter was asking about, Trump said, “No.” He then added:

With that being said, you know, you can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. You just can’t.

Asked how that squares with the Second Amendment, Trump doubled down:

Look, you can’t walk in with guns, you can’t do that. But it’s just a very unfortunate incident.

Later, at a separate event in Iowa, he reiterated that sentiment. The president made clear he disapproved of Pretti’s lawful firearm possession in that context:

Certainly, he shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.

After yet again stressing how “unfortunate” the killing was, he proceeded with the anti-gun rhetoric:

I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff.

The repetition left little ambiguity. The issue, in Trump’s telling, was not just what Pretti did or intended to do. It was that he was armed at all.

DHS and FBI

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting on Saturday, top Trump administration officials sought to justify the use of force in part by stressing the presence of a firearm.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said:

I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign. This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law-enforcement officers.

Only Pretti did not assault anyone, and Noem’s framing was widely seen as deflecting responsibility for the government’s use of force.