It didn’t take long for 2026 to start off with a bang, or in the case of Renee Good, bang, bang, bang, a mother of three children who was killed by an ICE agent on the streets of Minneapolis because she refused to get out of her car and drove away.  Two of the three shots were at point blank range through her driver’s side window.  Her last words to the agent who shot her were “I’m not mad at you.” After he killed Good, he didn’t run to her aid, but he or another ICE agent called out, “f—ing bitch.”  

Seventeen days later, Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at a veterans hospital, was helping a woman who was violently pushed to the ground by a border patrol agent.  As he was lifting her up, Pretti was pepper sprayed in his face.  Seven agents wrestled him to the ground.  One agent detected Pretti’s gun in a holster and removed it—the only moment when his gun was out.  In other words, he was disarmed.  That’s when he was shot 10 times by two agents as he lay prone on the street.

Two executions.  In broad daylight.  Americans killing other Americans.

What is happening in this country?  

In both situations, the White House officials from the president on down had their fictional narrative locked in place:  both Good and Pretti were domestic terrorists.  In other words, these people deserved to die.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivered the president’s message.  And how truthful was the information?

“An individual approached . . . officers with a . . . handgun.”

FALSE.  Pretti’s handgun was secured in a holster the whole time.  The only item he had in his hand was his cell phone.

“The armed suspect reacted violently.”

FALSE.  While he gave some resistance, the agents violently wrestled him to the ground.

“An agent fired defensive shots.”

FALSE.  There were two agents who shot Pretti, and all 10 shots were offensive ones since they were taking target practice on his prone body.

“Medics appeared at the scene immediately.”

FALSE.  No medics were needed.  He was dead.

“He had two magazines.”

TRUE.  But he never used them because he never used his gun.

As these lies spread, so did all the videos taken by those witnessing the murder.  Didn’t those in charge of the country see them?  Did they think that by saying the lies repeatedly it would erase these images?  Imagine if these images didn’t exist?

If it weren’t for courageous Minneapolis citizens who recorded these murders with their phones, there’d be no evidence that the federal employees who are paid by taxpayers lied to the American people.  It would have been a “they said/they dead” situation.

However, the attack against Pretti’s Second Amendment rights for being a gun owner is what shook up the MAGA and NRA crowds who vigorously supported his right to carry a firearm and two magazines—all legal in Minnesota.

Perhaps another reason for the outrage is that both Good and Pretti were U.S. citizens and white.  If either one did not match this description, the outcry may not have been so ear-piercing.

So now the president and his team had to revise their narrative.

Of course, this has been the president’s playbook:  to tell people what they see is false.  Such as the 2020 election (he won, Biden lost) and the 2021 insurrection (all convicted perpetrators pardoned).

The ICE tactics of bursting onto a scene in the middle of the day such as a car wash or hardware store, fully masked, identities hidden (like the KKK), is stuff of Mother Russia.  Supposedly, the government is infiltrating cities in order to weed out criminals, yet 92 percent of the people who have been plucked out of their lives have no criminal record.  Are these ugly intimidation tactics to frighten citizens, Americans vs. Americans, worth rounding up the 8 percent who do have criminal records? 

It’s like taking a hoe to a yard to unearth a worm.  You may find one but in doing so you’re destroying the lawn.

Clearly evident is that these ICE agents lack proper training. The government is so desperate to hire more ICE officers that the six-month training has been decimated to 47 days.

Those who chase the $50,000 bonuses to join ICE are people who wouldn’t make it out of police academies.  This line of work attracts bullies who enjoy the anonymity of terrorizing citizens.

This is not America.

People have become accustomed to hostile tactics and vile language.  When the president recently visited an auto plant, in response to a question from an employee, he retorted “f— you” to a fellow citizen, giving him the finger.  What other president has ever done this?

But if Biden or Obama said or did any of these things, whoa, the backlash would be the size of a tsunami.

Frankly, why aren’t people commenting on the mental health of this president?  His delusional thinking that because he wasn’t awarded the Nobel Peace Prize he is no longer going to be peaceful and will conquer Greenland by force is nuts.  Didn’t Maria Corina Machado hand over her medal to him?  Any normal, decent person would have refused the gesture.  But not him.

This is another example of why you don’t appease bullies, thinking that if you give them what they want, they’ll leave you alone.  Instead, they crave more.  As he himself told the New York Times, the only thing stopping him is his own morality.  Since he’s immoral, there are no guardrails to prevent him from unleashing his irrational brain.  And Americans and the world will suffer from his diseased mind.

The only ounce of compassion the president had for Goode’s murder was when he learned that her parents were supporters of him.  You see, it’s all about HIM.

In times of crisis, a president normally visits the distressed area to calm citizens and turn the temperature down.  In this case, the president chose not to.  After all, Minnesota did not vote for him in 2016, 2020 or 2024.  So during the weekend of Pretti’s murder, his social media posts focused on the ballroom that he is building which will be larger than the White House.

He doesn’t care about over half of the country who don’t support him, viewing them as non-citizens.  That’s why he targets the American cities in states which didn’t vote for him. 

The one person who did show up in Minneapolis wasn’t a federal official or any politician, but a guitar player.  Bruce Springsteen attended a benefit concert to premiere his new song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”  It took a singer, not a president, to shine a light on the darkness that has covered this community for several weeks.

So many of us are exhausted with the rapidity of negative news, but don’t let that onslaught convince you that the only thing you can do is remain still in your home, passively hoping for a brighter day.

Be reminded of the profound guidance that Fred Rogers would say at times like these:  look for the helpers.

Rebecca Good and Alex Pretti were helpers.  Whatever you do about what’s going in the world, be sure to do something:  contacting representatives, attending rallies, protesting in the streets, painting a picture, writing a column.   To sit there and do nothing is a prescription for doom.

This administration has inflicted body blows to the Constitution, democracy is on the ropes, but, as shown in Minneapolis, it is still standing.  

Make the world a better place.  It’s not a cliché—it’s therapy for our nation.