Legacy Media Is Struggling With Minneapolis

Predictably, Real Clear Politics this morning is gengerly tiptoeing through an it's-not-clear-what-happened-both-sides-are-at-fault narrative. From their link to The Wall Street Journal:

Videos of the incident appear to show that before the shooting, Pretti was filming federal agents, something that has become common in Minneapolis as citizen observers document ICE actions. Agents appeared to spray a chemical irritant at him and another person. In the milliseconds before shots were fired, it was less clear what happened during a scuffle in which Pretti was on the ground, surrounded by multiple agents.

Then they dug up an X post from sometime never Trumper Erick Erickson, whom they never ordinarily link:

(5) I think Tim Walz and Jacob Frey have made the situation far worse and destabilized by amping up white progressives and refusing to assist immigration agents.

(6) I think Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino have made the situation far worse by being unrestrained in how they proceed, not prioritizing the criminals, gang members, and more seriously problematic illegals, and not thinking of the public relations fall out should things like what are happening actually happen.

(7) I think Trump supporters who want an unrestrained and unmeasured deportation response are playing into the hands of progressives' PR and alienating normal voters.

The problem is that Erickson and others like Bp Barron who suggest ICE should target only the worst criminal migrants apparently don't recognize that this is precisely what ICE was doing when the victim inferfered:

Immigration officials said Pretti was shot several times shortly after 9 a.m. local time when federal officers were conducting a targeted operation against a different man who was undocumented and wanted for assault.

Sundance at Conservative Treehouse isn't always right, but he does get it right in this post:

In the surface this looks like an immigration and customs enforcement operation; however, just below the surface is a large criminal network operating in coordination with state and municipal leadership. This is why the Mayor and Governor are trying desperately to keep riots on the streets.

And as I surmised yesterday, this in fact looks like a national network operating in many states with a common business model. If ICE were to be defunded tomorrow, Trump's strategies have already had a major effect. Let's not forget that one of Trump's most visible opponents, Gov Walz, has already had to withdraw from his reelection campaign due to Somali scandals, and his troubles aren't over:

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has started raising money for a legal defense fund after the Department of Justice subpoenaed Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and with others for allegedly conspiring to impede law enforcement. This also comes as there has been massive fallout from a fraud scandal that has plagued Minnesota.

In addition, the administration has frozen a wide range of payments connected to allegedly fraudulent programs involving Somalis, as well as limiting the money flow from Somali businesses back to Somalia. This is a Trump strategy that I've been noting over the past year: he recognizes that money is at the root of most problems, and he acts to turn off the money. For instance, the fraudulent programs exist due to kickbacks to power brokers and politicians. If Trump stops the money, it stops the kickbacks.

This is anothwr factor behind the Minnesota unrest, but it's also going to make it harder to pay the protesters -- that money is coming from somewhere. This continuing restriction on the money flow will be a problem for the whole frammis, whether ICE operates or not. But what will be the impact of new attempts in the Senate to limit ICE funding?

A sweeping government funding package is facing new hurdles in the Senate after another person was shot and killed by a federal officer on Saturday in Minnesota, raising the specter of a potential shutdown next Friday at midnight.

The legislation needs 60 votes to secure passage in the chamber, where Republicans control 53 seats. And a number of key Democrats who have voted for recent appropriations measures said they’ll vote against funding the Department of Homeland Security unless restrictions are put on how immigration officers carry out enforcement operations.

What we're beginning to see about Trump is that he's lucky, but the harder he works, the luckier he gets. I strongly suspect he's gamed this through, and the conditions that are buiding up on his side include the fact that the Minnesota opposition is simply unattractive. Senators who oppose ICE will also be supporting figures like Gov Walz, Mayor Frey, and Rep Ilhan Omar. Criminal investigations are continuing on these and others, while the various kickbacks that maintain the Minnesota power structure are running dry.

Add to that last year's shutdown didn't work out for Democrats. They'll again be on the wrong side of an 80-20 issue. I keep saying it's a major mistake to underestimate Trump.