All the most unhinged moments from the last 24 hours in Trump world - as the US President lies about the tragic shooting in Minnesota - and quietly yanks the US out of a huge raft of international bodies and treaties
17:05, 08 Jan 2026Updated 20:51, 08 Jan 2026
The tragic shooting of an unarmed civilian by an ICE agent in Minnesota could be a significant turning point in Trump's second Presidency. The problem is we don't know which way he'll turn until he starts moving. A fatal confrontation between Trump's private army of untrained immigration goons and a bystander seemed hopelessly inevitable. And like the Charlottesville protest during his first term, it will be a test of how much faith Americans have in their leader.
The killing of Heather Hayer, an anti-racism protester by a white supremacist at the "Unite the Right" rally, was a real jolt in his first term - and his blasé "both sides-ing" of the event exposed cracks in his standing, both among politicians and voters.
And the moment comes while Trump is riding high, at least in his own head. His poll numbers are still garbage, but he's surfing the wave of his invasion of Venezuela, giving the vibes of a man who got away with something he shouldn't have, and feels immortal. He's already spread lies about the victim and expressed sympathy for the shooter. I see no reason he wouldn't continue down that road.
1. Trump responds to the Minnesota shooting with lies
Donald Trump's response to the shooting of a 37-year-old mother of three by an ICE agent in Minnesota was to spread lies about the victim and express sympathy for her killer.
From early this morning hundreds of protesters gathered around an immigration enforcement centre in St Paul, Minnesota after an agent shot Renee Nicole Good as she attempted to drive her car away.
In a Truth Social post following the incident, Trump said video he'd seen of Minneapolis shooting shows the driver "violently, wilfully and viciously ran over" the ICE agent and the he appeared injured, NONE of which is true.
He also claimed the officer who took the shots is "recovering in hospital". There's been no suggestion of him being injured or in hospital. In fact, video of the alleged shooter has since emerged of him walking to his car and driving away.
"Based on the attached clip," he wrote, "it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital."
2. Kristi Noem's immediate response was, if anything, even worse
Video of the incident shows an officer standing toward the front-left corner of the SUV as a second officer attempts to wrench the door open.
The driver steers to the right, away from both officers and begins to move, at which point the officer fired at least three shots at point-blank range. No other officers were in the path of the SUV when it sped towards parked cars and crashed, and the shooter walked away, apparently unharmed.
Yet within an hour of the incident, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem released a statement claiming the incident was an "act of domestic terrorism."
"What had happened was our ICE officers were out in enforcement action, they got stuck in the snow because of the adverse weather that is in Minneapolis," she said during a press briefing in Texas. Footage of the incident shows the street was clear of snow and no vehicles appear "stuck".
"They were attempting to push out their vehicle, and a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle."
3. But, unbelievably the award for worst response goes to...
Fox News host Jesse Watters, who, for no reason I can bring my sense of human decency to comprehend, said the following of Renee Nicole Good, in his usual snide drawl.
"The woman who lost her life was a self-proclaimed poet from Colorado, with pronouns in her bio. A 37-year-old white woman named Renee Good. The Daily Mail says she leaves behind a lesbian partner and a child from a previous marriage.
"She was a disruptor, though she considered herself a legal observer, but there's no evidence she had a law degree."
4. Tim Walz called them out
After the incident, Minnesota Government Tim Walz tweeted: "I've seen the video. Don't believe this propaganda machine."
He later appeared before cameras, saying: "I have a very simple message: We don't need further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you've done enough."
Walz criticised the "total chaos" of the situation.
"It's beyond me that apparently from the federal government, the Homeland Security director herself, has already determined who this person who, what their motive was, and they hadn't even been taken out of the vehicle. We're not living in a normal world," he said.
"After this person was shot, federal agents are milling around, touching the vehicle at a crime scene -- I don't know what to tell you."
He added: "Do you have no decency? We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever. I don't want to be right about this, but I said if they do this they're gonna create a chaotic situation where someone innocent is gonna get killed. And they did it."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey disputed the official account released by the Department for Homeland Security, which described ICE officers "fearing for their life" before firing into the victim's vehicle.
"They are already trying to spin this as an act of self-defence. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly -- that is bulls**t," he said. "This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody getting killed. Your only reason for being in our city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing the opposite."
He went on to urge ICE to "get the f**k ou of Minnesota.
5. AOC gave this polite 'no' to the above Fox host
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was approached by a Fox fixer outside the Capitol last night, who told her Watters wanted to invite her to go on his show.
"That's nice," she responded. Asked if she would come on, she said: "He has sexualized me on his show, he has sexually harassed me on his show, he has engaged in horrific, sexually exploitative rhetoric." When the producer insisted that wasn't true, she brought out the receipts. "It is true, because he accused me of wanting to sleep with Stephen Miller," she shot back. "So why don't you tell me what you think is acceptable to tell a woman."
Then she walked off to her car.
For the record, it is true. Watters said it on Fox in October, singing Miller's praises as a "high value" man, and suggesting such men are "brave, they're unafraid, they're confident and they're on a mission. And they have younger wives with beautiful children." He then claimed AOC "wants to sleep with Miller … it is so obvious." It was even too much for Fox colleague Greg Gutfeld, who said: "That was pretty creepy."
6. Trump pulled the US out of a raft of international organisations
Meanwhile, the White House late last night announced that the US would be puling out of 66 international organisation and treaties.
They include the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), UN bodies related to violence against children, sexual violence in combat, child soldiers, and the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law.
The withdrawal follows a review of all of the international organisations the US funds or takes part in to determine if they are "Contrary to the Interests of the United States."
In yesterday's executive order, the White House confirmed the President had looked at Secretary of State Marco Rubio's review, and decided that definition applies to these 66 organisations.
All very fine and not at all alarming. Carry on.