‘Wake-up call’: Obama & Clinton call for unity and accountability in Minneapolis shootings

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Two former Democratic presidents spoke out on Sunday after the second deadly shooting in Minneapolis as the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown and defends federal agents’ actions as “self-defense.”

Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama released a statement, calling the death of Alex Pretti a “heartbreaking tragedy” and criticizing the Department of Homeland Security for its “unprecedented tactics.”

“It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” the Obamas wrote.

The Obamas said, “people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.”

“And yet rather than trying to impose some semblance of discipline and accountability over the agents they’ve deployed, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation — and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” the Obamas continued.

Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer earlier this month in a residential area of Minneapolis.

The Obamas concluded by calling on every American to “draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” adding they hope the administration will change its approach and work with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “to avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson accused Obama, in a statement to NBC News, of using the moment to “sow more division.”

“Obama should join President Trump in urging local Democrat leaders — like Walz and Frey — to work with the Trump Administration to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” Jackson said. “Instead, they are attacking law enforcement and defending criminal illegal aliens with additional convictions for murder, rape, assault, and more.”

Former President Bill Clinton called the scenes in Minneapolis over the last few weeks ” horrible” and said he “never thought “they would “take place in America.”

“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them,” he wrote on social media.

Clinton accused “people in charge” of lying to the public and telling us “not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes.”

“It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People,” he added.