U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with the media as he heads to Marine One to travel to Iowa, from the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump on Tuesday agreed with the criticism that no one should carry a gun to a protest.
The president spoke to the press before heading to Des Moines, Iowa to discuss his economic agenda after his first year in office.
A key topic was the recent shooting of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti. Many members of the administration have implied that Pretti caused his own death by having a gun on him.
Trump's team initially alleged that Pretti approached federal agents while "brandishing a weapon." Videos quickly showed a different story.
White House correspondent Elizabeth Landers from PBS's "News Hour" asked whether he agreed with the claim that Pretti was acting as "an assassin." Trump disagreed with that assessment.
"Well, that being said," Trump returned to the reporter, "you can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You just can't. Listen, you can't walk in with guns. You can't do that. It's just a very unfortunate incident."
Second Amendment advocates have been furious with the administration for claims that protesters can't have guns. It earned a rare rebuke from the National Rifle Association (NRA).
President Trump tells @NewsHour as he departs for Iowa that he does not think Alex Pretti was acting like an assassin in Minneapolis, as a top aide asserted in the aftermath. He adds that people can’t walk in to a protest with a gun: “it’s a very unfortunate incident.” pic.twitter.com/8ez9MZCCOi
— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) January 27, 2026
