President Donald Trump is finally experiencing some serious pushback after nearly a year of the world largely bowing to his every desire. It started with skeptical American oil executives. Then came fed-up European and Canadian leaders. And now even Republican lawmakers are expressing frustration with the administration following a deadly Saturday shooting of a protester in Minneapolis by a federal immigration agent — the second such killing this month. Trump has responded to the horrific shooting, caught on camera by multiple witnesses, by doubling down on his mass deportation policies. He's tried to link the Minneapolis unrest to a statewide fraud scandal while ramping up his attacks on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and sending border czar Tom Homan to take over federal immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota. In a rare moment of intraparty concern, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James R. Comer on Sunday suggested the administration alter course after the shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an American citizen who worked as a nurse. “They have got all these white liberals coming in trying to run over ICE, trying to spray them and do everything to disrupt,” the Kentucky Republican told Fox News. "And if I were President Trump, I would almost think about, ‘OK, if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm's way, and there's a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide.’” Texas Rep. Michael McCaul took to social media Sunday to say he was “troubled by the events that have unfolded in Minneapolis.” “As an attorney and former federal prosecutor, I believe a thorough investigation is necessary — both to get to the bottom of these incidents and to maintain Americans’ confidence in our justice system,” added the longtime Republican lawmaker, who is retiring this year. “I look forward to hearing from DHS officials about what happened here and how we can prevent further escalation in the future.” The Republican pushback extended beyond members of Congress. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said the circumstances of Pretti’s shooting should lead the administration to examine how the federal agents are operating on U.S. streets. “This is a real tragedy,” Stitt told CNN. “And I think the death of Americans, what we’re seeing on TV, it’s causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability. … Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now.” "We believe in federalism and state rights,” he said. “And nobody likes feds coming into their state. … And so, what’s the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want.” The Trump administration has so far not signaled any change to its immigration policy. Briefing reporters Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the elected Democratic leaders of Minnesota and Minneapolis of fomenting a “deliberate and hostile resistance” — though she said she has not heard the president call Pretti a “domestic terrorist” or an "assassin," as some administration officials did over the weekend. A number of Republican lawmakers have called for a thorough probe into Saturday’s shooting. The president on Monday showed signs he might be willing to work with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee whom he has harshly criticized. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Walz called him “with the request to work together." The president described their conversation as "very good," saying the pair "seemed to be on a similar wavelength." "I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession. The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future," Trump added. To that end, Leavitt wrote on X that Homan “will be managing ICE Operations on the ground in Minnesota to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.” ‘A rupture’ Some ardent Trump allies have pointed fingers at Pretti, who local and state law enforcement officials have confirmed was carrying a firearm when his confrontation with the federal agents began Saturday. (It's lawful to carry a gun in public in Minnesota if you have a permit, and it remains unclear whether Pretti broke any state or federal laws.) “Law-abiding citizens have every right to carry a firearm. You DO NOT have a right to obstruct law enforcement activity, or commit another felony with one,” Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin wrote on X. “This is not difficult.” Still, the pushback Trump received over the events in Minneapolis continued a pattern from recent weeks. The president spent two turbulent days last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he drew criticism from Western leaders. “For decades, countries like Canada prospered under what we called the ‘rules-based international order,'" Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said at the forum on Jan. 20, the one-year anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration. “We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically, and we knew that international law applied with varied rigor, depending on the identity of the accused or the victim,” Carney added. “This fiction was useful, and American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security and support for frameworks for resolving disputes." But in one of the most striking rebukes of Trump's second term, Carney — in remarks later echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron — said Western leaders should allow the Trump administration to continue peeling off from the post-World War II order. “This bargain no longer works,” the prime minister said. “Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.” It was ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods who, during a Jan. 9 White House roundtable on the president’s desire to tap into Venezuelan oil reserves, kicked off Trump 2.0's first period of resistance. "We've had our assets seized there twice. And, so, you can imagine to reenter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen here and what is currently the state,” he said. “If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today, it's uninvestable." Trump responded two days later by suggesting to reporters he might, somehow, ban ExxonMobil from the South American country.
