MINNEAPOLIS, USA — President Donald Trump said he held what he described as a “very good call” with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Sunday, January 26, 2026, as tensions escalated in the state following the fatal shooting of a demonstrator by a federal agent and days of protests over immigration enforcement.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Governor Walz had contacted him to discuss cooperation between federal and state authorities.
“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” the president wrote.
He added: “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.”
Shift in Tone After Days of Criticism
Mr. Trump’s comments marked a shift after several days in which administration officials had publicly criticised Governor Walz over protests targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota.
The statement followed the release on Saturday of video footage showing a Customs and Border Protection agent shooting Alex Pretti in the back during a confrontation.
The videos show Mr. Pretti filming officers and attempting to assist a woman who was being pepper-sprayed before he was also sprayed.
The footage prompted criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, including concerns that the White House’s initial account of the incident conflicted with what appeared in multiple recordings.
State officials, including Governor Walz, have said they were prevented from assessing or investigating the shooting after federal agents restricted their access to the scene.
Federal Response and Deployment
In his post, Mr. Trump said Governor Walz welcomed the deployment of Tom Homan to Minnesota.
“He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I!” the president wrote.
“We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have ‘touched’ and, even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!”
Mr. Trump said he planned to speak again with Governor Walz in the near future.
Broader Context of Tensions
The shooting of Mr. Pretti occurred weeks after Renee Good, an unarmed woman, was shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, further intensifying public anger over federal immigration operations in the state.
Governor Walz and President Trump have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks over the presence and conduct of ICE agents in Minnesota.
At a press conference on Sunday, Walz addressed supporters of the administration, urging them to reconsider their views.
“You’re allowed to decide at any point that you’re not with this anymore,” he said. “If you voted for this administration — Heck, even if you thought Operation Metro Surge was a good idea, sounded like the thing to do a month ago — you’re still allowed to look at what’s happening here in Minnesota and say, ‘This isn’t what I voted for and this isn’t what I want.’”
Federal authorities have not announced whether state officials will be granted access to conduct their own investigation into the shooting of Mr. Pretti.
