“You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns, you just can’t,” President Donald Trump declared while departing the White House on Tuesday—and the MAGA internet promptly lost its collective mind.
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The president made the jaw-dropping comment in his first public remarks since ICE agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. After the shooting, Trump administration officials claimed Pretti had a gun and intended to kill law enforcement.
One problem: videos and witness accounts showed Pretti was holding a phone in his hand and never brandished a firearm when he was tackled to the ground and killed.
Stephen Miller is now attempting to walk back those comments as the White House enters bull-blown damage control mode.
THE DETAILS: Trump’s gun comment came unprompted. A reporter asked if he believed Pretti was an assassin, as his deputy chief of staff had claimed. Trump said “no”—then circled back to drop the anti-Second Amendment bombshell that sent his base into a tailspin.
Social media users immediately flooded the National Rifle Association’s X account with the video clip, demanding answers. Former NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch shared the clip and wrote: “Uh, what was the question that elicited this response?”
Gun Owners of America fired back directly: “Peaceful protests while armed isn’t radical—it’s American. The First and Second Amendments protect those rights, and they always have. GOA will hold any administration accountable.”
The NRA responded without naming Trump.
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OF COURSE: The hypocrisy wasn’t lost on observers. Some pointed out that January 6 rioters openly marched with guns at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 without being shot by law enforcement—yet now the administration is suggesting that simply carrying a legally obtained firearm could justify lethal force at a protest.
Former Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd called it out: “The NRA and other gun rights groups would be raising alarms and money off of this statement if said by any president not named Trump. What we’re learning is that these folks only care about Constitutional rights when it’s politically convenient.”
BUT BUT BUT: A few GOP lawmakers like Sen. Ted Budd and Rep. Andrew Clyde posted reminders that the Second Amendment exists—but neither actually called out the president for his words. Later in Iowa on Tuesday, Trump doubled down, insisting he didn’t like that Pretti had a gun.
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WHY IT MATTERS: For years, conservative gun rights groups have treated the Second Amendment as an untouchable sacred text. Now their guy just said “you can’t have guns” to justify a killing by federal agents—and most of them are pretending it didn’t happen. Turns out “shall not be infringed” has an asterisk: unless the administration needs to cover for a fatal shooting.