Vance claimed he wanted to "turn down the temperature" after the tragic shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis - before making a string of unsubstantiated claims, undermining her reputation and claiming she was "radicalised"
19:42, 08 Jan 2026Updated 20:21, 08 Jan 2026
JD Vance monstered a the victim of a shooting in a jaw-dropping, evidence-free rant, branding her "brainwashed" and "radicalised" and blaming her for her own death.
The US Vice President claimed he wanted to "turn down the temperature" after the tragic shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. But at a last-minute press conference at the White House, he accused the 37-year-old mum-of-three of deliberately trying to run over the shooter, whom he said acted in self-defence. He said her death was a "tragedy of her own making".
It comes after Donald Trump claimed the shooter had been injured in the incident, and had sought treatment in hospital, despite video showing him walking around the crime scene before driving away in a car. And asked whether he was concerned about prejudicing an inquiry that was just getting underway, he said that he was not.
"What you see is what you get in this case," he claimed, despite setting out a version of events that is contradicted by almost everybody outside of the Trump administration. Video of the incident indicates Good was trying to drive around and away from the agent when he fired his gun at her.
He went on to claim - without evidence - Good was part of a "radical left network" trying to stop the work of ICE, who were on a door to door fishing expedition seeking to round up noncitizens for deportation.
He claimed she was a "victim of left-wing ideology", had been "brainwashed" and "radicalised." Local sources have suggested she had dropped off her child at school and was on her way home, and in a statement her ex-husband said she had no history of activism.
"What young mother shows up and decides they are going to throw their car in front of ICE Officers enforcing legitimate law?" He said. "You have to be a little bit brainwashed to get to that point."
Challenged on how he had reached his conclusion when video suggests the opposite, he said: "There is one angle where if you squint, you can maybe tell yourself that it is not clear what happened. If you look at all angles of the video, it is very clear that her vehicle went right for the guy and she collided with him."
And he berated the media for failing to mention that the agent in question had previously been hit by cars on two occasions. There is no way to verify if this is true, because the agent has not been named.
"What I am certain of she accelerated in a way where she ran into the guy…" he said. Footage of the incident shows the rapid acceleration of her car started after she was shot in the head by the agent. He fired on her twice more through the side window, as her car drove past him. Vance said: "What is not reasonable is for so many of you to plaster over the media that this was an innocent woman…" And he said the alleged shooter "deserves a debt of gratitude."
Asked who was behind the alleged network that "brainwashed" Ms Good, he said: "Well, it's one of the things we're gonna have to figure out." Earlier, Homeland Security Secretary confirmed local law enforcement won't be involved in the investigation into the shooting, claiming Minnesota authorities "don't have any jurisdiction". Instead the probe will be led solely by the FBI, under the leadership of Trump appointee Kash Patel.