Trump says will ‘de-escalate a little bit’ in Minneapolis, amid outcry over killings

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would “de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis, amid a backlash over the killings of two people by federal immigration agents.“We’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump told Fox News after he sent his border tsar Tom Homan to the city and was expected to pull out hardline Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.Trump said Bovino was “very good, but he’s a pretty out there kind of a guy”, while saying of his shake-up in Minneapolis: “I don’t think it’s a pullback, it’s a little bit of a change.”Homan met with officials in Minneapolis, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, as the US president struggled with damage control after the fatal shootings.“I hear things are going very nicely,” Trump said.White House ‘border tsar’ Tom Homan speaks to reporters in Washington in August 2025. Photo: AFPThe US president told reporters that he rejected the “assassin” label used by a top aide to describe 37-year-old protester Alex Pretti, who was shot at point-blank range over the weekend.