MS NOW host Rachel Maddow on Monday said President Donald Trump and his administration have “crumpled” after federal immigration agents fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minnesota this weekend — prompting backlash even from Republicans.
“This is called political change,” Maddow said.
The pundit, on her weekly show, enumerated the many Republicans and centrist Democrats who previously supported funding the administration “when other Democrats didn’t” but have since vowed to reverse course or have spoken out against the ongoing effort in Minnesota.
Maddow quoted Minnesota state Rep. Nolan West (R), who said the presence of federal agents “needs to end” because it’s “causing more harm than good,” and state Sen. Julia Coleman (R), who said Trump must “pause targeted operations” there.
She further noted that Republican candidate for Minnesota governor Chris Madel dropped out of the race Monday, citing his refusal to support the GOP’s “stated retribution on the citizens of our state” as the reason and calling the results an “unmitigated disaster.”
Maddow also pointed to Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who said on CNN that the violence in Minnesota is “causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability,” before quoting Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) — who wrote on social media, “Enough….”
“It’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their god-given and constitutional rights to protest their government,” Scott wrote Sunday on X, formerly Twitter.
Maddow eventually noted that “even in the sinkhole of sniveling cowardice” of America’s “so-called” business leaders, CEOs have begun to “squeak that maybe, possibly, if nobody minds,” they’re not comfortable with the Trump administration’s actions.
More than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies — including Target, Best Buy, General Mills, Cargill, Land O’Lakes and the Mayo Clinic — signed an open letter Sunday calling for “immediate de-escalation” in the state and for federal officials “to find real solutions.”
“And yes, that is too late, but it is way more than they were willing to do before,” Maddow said Monday. “So take it, bank it and build on it. We even saw some of the old graybeards of U.S. politics rouse from their retirement pastimes and diversions to say something.”
She went on to note former President Bill Clinton issued a statement warning Americans not to “give our freedoms away,” while former President Barack Obama said Pretti’s death should be a “wake-up call” that the nation’s values are “under assault.”
Trump reportedly told Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Monday that he’s open to reducing the number of federal immigration agents in his state.
Maddow on Monday left off with a galvanizing rallying cry, arguing that a political shift like this only “starts with the people.”
“It starts with the protests that we have seen — principled, peaceful, relentless protest,” Maddow continued. “It works. That is the source of this shift. Peaceful, powerful, relentless, principled protest works. It uses democratic means to save democracy.”
She added, “That is what has forced the Trump administration to change course. That is what has forced Trump to back down. Principled, peaceful, relentless protest is the democratic means of saving a democracy, and that is the only way to win for the long term.”
Watch the full “Rachel Maddow Show” segment on MS NOW’s YouTube account.