The Trump administration has quickly abandoned its familiar deny and attack playbook after initially using it when federal agents shot dead Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.
Within 24 hours, as various videos of the shooting circulated online, it became clear that the White House was out of step with public opinion.
Since then, the administration – and the president himself - have changed tack, blaming Democrats for what happened and focusing less on the actions of the American nurse who was killed.
Democrats, meanwhile, have increased their criticism of the president's mass deportation policy and the aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), leaning into a political fight that could result in a new government shutdown on Friday.
On Monday morning, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche described the situation as a powder keg. While he blamed the Democrats, many on both sides of America's political divide will agree that the current situation is fraught with peril.
The initial administration response to Pretti's death was straightforward. The 37-year-old was portrayed as a domestic terrorist bent on bloodshed. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Pretti wished to inflict harm and was brandishing a weapon. US Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said that it looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.
This White House has typically been quick to push back when criticized. Deny and attack has long been a bedrock Trump strategy for handling adversity.
But, perhaps tellingly, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to echo Miller's comments herself on Monday when pressed on whether the president agreed with his senior adviser. Instead, she said a full investigation would be carried out.
Multiple videos of Saturday's deadly encounter contradict many of the administration's initial claims. The footage shows Pretti filming ICE agents with his mobile phone and helping a woman who is pushed over before both are pepper-sprayed. Pretti is visibly not holding a gun when he is wrestled to the ground.
This administration has yet to show signs of backing away from its aggressive immigration enforcement, but the change in messaging indicates an attempt to respond to a shifting public mood. In a CBS survey taken before the weekend's shooting, 61% of respondents said that ICE is being too tough when stopping and detaining people, while 58% disapproved of his handling of immigration as a whole.
At the moment, both Republicans and Democrats are grappling with how to handle what has become an explosive situation. At stake is the public perception of Trump's immigration policy, a core political issue for the president and one that helped him win back the White House.
