Biden Finally Speaks Out After Minneapolis Killings

Former President Joe Biden emerged from weeks of relative quiet on Tuesday. He delivered his sharpest public rebuke yet of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. He condemned what he called a “disturbing pattern of government-sanctioned brutality” that left two U.S. citizens dead on Minneapolis streets.

What has unfolded in Minneapolis this past month betrays our most basic values as Americans. We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a…

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 27, 2026

Biden’s statement comes as the nation reels from the fatal shootings of 37-year-old VA nurse Alex Pretti and mother and widow Renee Nicole Good, both killed this month by federal agents operating under Trump’s expanded ICE and Border Patrol enforcement directives. The deaths have triggered mass protests, nighttime vigils, and growing bipartisan calls for an independent investigation into the president’s security apparatus.

Though Biden did not mention Trump by name, the target was unmistakable.

“What we’ve witnessed in Minneapolis betrays our most basic values as Americans,” Biden wrote. “We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that terrorizes people for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a nation that tramples the Fourth Amendment.”

He added, in a pointed swipe at Trump’s rhetoric: “No single person—not even a president—gets to redefine what this country stands for.”

A Biden adviser familiar with the drafting process said the former president had been “deeply disturbed” by video of Pretti’s final moments and felt compelled to speak out as “the administration continues escalating without accountability.”

Pretti, a beloved Minneapolis VA nurse and Air Force veteran, was shot four days ago after Border Patrol agents confronted a group of civilians near a light-rail station. Video shows Pretti recording the encounter on his phone, then bending down to help a woman who had been shoved. He is tackled seconds later. Multiple shots follow.

“Alex served this country. He saved lives for a living,” said longtime coworker Michelle Torres. “To label him a threat after killing him—it’s obscene. It’s un-American.”

Good, also 37, was killed earlier this month after an ICE officer fired repeatedly into her SUV as she attempted to drive away during a disputed stop. Trump officials insist she “accelerated toward an agent.” Witnesses say she panicked and tried to flee.

Neighbors describe Good as “a gentle soul” and “a mom just trying to rebuild her life” after losing her husband last year.

Outrage intensified after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem quickly labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” before any evidence was made public. Even some Republicans balked.

“That’s not how justice works,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “You don’t call a dead American a terrorist before the body’s even cold.”

A senior Minnesota law enforcement official, speaking on background, said the administration’s messaging appeared “premature, inaccurate, and politically motivated,” adding that investigators on the ground “found no initial indication of extremist intent.”

Former President Barack Obama also weighed in this week, calling Pretti’s killing “a heartbreaking tragedy that reflects a broader assault on the values we claim to defend.”

He warned that “constitutional norms are cracking under the strain of a government that increasingly treats dissent as a threat instead of a right.”

Despite rising tensions, Biden praised Minneapolis residents for what he called their “extraordinary courage under impossible circumstances.”

“Minnesotans have reminded the entire country what moral clarity looks like,” he said. “They have suffered enough at the hands of this administration.”

He urged the Justice Department—still under Trump’s control—to allow an outside, independent body to investigate both shootings.

“Justice requires a full, fair, and transparent accounting,” Biden said. “Nothing less.”

He closed by offering condolences on behalf of himself and former First Lady Jill Biden: “We are sending strength to the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good as we mourn lives taken far too soon.”

Trump claimed Monday that he had a “very good call” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, despite spending weeks criticizing him. The White House said Trump is “monitoring the situation closely.”

But one senior adviser privately conceded that the president is “worried about political fallout” as protests spread and both deaths dominate national headlines.