One prominent conservative commentator is saying that President Donald Trump's latest comments about 37 year-old Alex Pretti — the U.S. citizen and lawful gun owner who was shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota – are striking a nerve with members of his own party.
In a Tuesday segment on CNN's "OutFront," radio host Erick Erickson (the founder of conservative website RedState) told host Erin Burnett that the administration's handling of the latest shooting in Minneapolis has "blown up in their faces" in more ways than one.
[Border Patrol Commander Greg] Bovino is going to be the Icarus who flew too close to the sun. He's the one who's going to take the fall for this,” Erickson said. "… Miller elevated Bovino, even above his boss at Customs and Border Protection, to be able to do this because they liked his hardline approach. They liked the images of the arrests. They thought it would placate the president in the base, and now it's blown up in their faces with the death of Alex Pretti because [of conservatives’] reaction both on Pretti’s gun ownership and the way [Miller] defined a dead man. It's not working for the president. He had to make the pivot back and re-empower Tom Homan, who Kristi Noem had tried to sideline.”
Miller, said Erickson, was not “going to be a sacrificial lamb,” because Trump “values his counsel.”
“I think they're not going to fire [Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem] and give a scalp to their opposition, but they'll make her disappear. You're not going to see her regularly, much like they've done to Tulsi Gabbard," he said. "She won't be someone they rely on for advice. Tom Homan, the border czar, will be really empowered.”
Burnett pointed out that “five times today” Trump managed to say something contrary to the Second Amendment, and asked Erickson how this was playing out with his base.
“Look, here's the problem: Environmentalists, abortion advocates and guns have constituencies that are single issue voters. And the Republicans have the Second Amendment group in lockstep with them,” said Erickson. “They need them to turn out in November. They tend to turn out for Republicans in midterm elections. They may not when they have this administration—including the president — badmouthing the Second Amendment.”
“I'm in group chats with conservative groups today just begging the president to shut up on this issue and move on,” Erickson added.
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