President Trump spoke with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday and hailed their conversation as productive, as the both sides appear trying to lower tensions after the fatal shooting of another protester in the city.
Mr. Trump said “lots of progress is being made,” and noted that border czar Tom Homan will be meeting with Mr. Frey, a Democrat who has been critical of federal immigration agents in his city, on Tuesday.
In a statement, Mr. Frey said he welcomed the conversation with Mr. Homan and hoped it would result in finding a common ground.
“My door is open,” Mr. Frey said. “If his visit is instead focused on escalating tensions or spreading misinformation, Minneapolis doesn’t need that here.”
The phone call was Mr. Trump’s second with a Minnesota elected official on Monday. Earlier in the day, he called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat.
Mr. Trump described the call with Mr. Walz as “very good” and hinted that the two men can find a path forward to calm tensions in the state.
“It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that Mr. Walz requested the two “work together” to address the chaos in the state.
Mr. Trump’s comments marked a noticeable shift in the way the president has talked about Mr. Walz and Mr. Frey whose rhetoric he’s blamed for the unrest that has led to federal officers killing two people this month.
Moments after Mr. Trump’s positive post about the governor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt scathingly criticized Mr. Walz and Mr. Frey, saying their rhetoric has “shamefully” blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from carrying out law enforcement operations.
As recently as Sunday, after a federal agent’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Walz and Mr. Frey of “inciting insurrection with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric,” and slammed them as “sanctimonious political fools.”
In a public statement, Mr. Walz’s office confirmed the call with Mr. Trump. The statement said that Mr. Trump had agreed “to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.”
The governor also said Mr. Trump agreed to speak to the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that “state investigators are able to conduct independent investigations” into the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good.
Ms. Good was killed by a federal agent earlier this month after federal officials say she drove her car at an ICE agent. She was blocking the roadway with her SUV during protests of immigration enforcement in the city. Both deaths have intensified anti-ICE protests.
