All over the United States — from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to Chicago — large protests are being held following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. The shooting is being condemned as excessive force by everyone from liberal economist Paul Krugman to conservatives and libertarians such as The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson, MS NOW's Joe Scarborough, The Bulwark's Bill Kristol and former Judge Andrew Napolitano (a legal analyst for Newsmax), while members of the Trump Administration are passionately defending the agent — including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Vice President JD Vance.
Another right-wing voice condemning ICE and the Trump Administration following Good's death is New York Times columnist David French.
In his January 11 column, French argues that President Donald Trump and his allies have a way of making a crisis worse — and he points to the Good shooting as a prime example. Trump, French warns, "is putting on a clinic about how to break the United States."
"The terrible divisiveness of police violence is why responsible leaders respond to every incident with extreme care," French writes. "You lament the lives lost, you promise a fair and thorough investigation, and you call for calm. You do not prejudge the case…. Even if you follow that playbook perfectly — you say the right words, you do the right things — violence can still erupt. That's how fraught the issue is. But Trump isn't a responsible leader, and he's at his absolute worst in a crisis."
French continues, "He lies. He inflames his base. And — most dangerous of all — he pits the federal government against states and cities, treating them not as partners in constitutional governance but as hostile inferiors that must be brought to heel. That's exactly what has happened in the hours and days since an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good on the streets of Minneapolis on Wednesday."
The Trump Administration, the conservative columnist laments, is doing nothing to calm tensions following Good's death — but instead, is making a crisis even more dangerous.
"Instantly, the (Trump) Administration's narrative locked in," French observes. "In a Truth Social post published mere hours after Good’s death, Trump said that Good 'violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense.' He said that it was 'hard to believe' that the ICE agent, who was recorded walking around after the incident, apparently unharmed, was alive. Statements from senior administration officials were even worse."
French adds, "Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, said that Good committed an act of 'domestic terrorism.' Not to be outdone, Vice President JD Vance called the incident 'classic terrorism.' But if you watch videos of the shooting, one thing is clear: No fair-minded person could watch that incident and conclude that Good was a 'domestic terrorist' on a mission to run down ICE agents. The administration's claims of terrorism are false — absurdly so…. To the worst parts of MAGA — including people who exert immense power over American life — your worth is defined by your obedience. And those who don't obey? Well, they deserve to die, and no one should mourn their death."
David French's full New York Times column is available at this link (subscription required).
