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US Vice President JD Vance speaks at an industrial shipping facility on January 22, 2026 in Toledo, Ohio.
(Photo by Jim Watson-Pool/Getty Images)
Asked If He'll Apologize to Alex Pretti's Family, JD Vance Scoffs 'For What?'
Others in the Trump administration have walked back the lie that Pretti was a "would-be-assassin." Vance isn't sorry.
Feb 04, 2026
Vice President JD Vance is refusing to apologize to the family of Alex Pretti after defaming the Minnesotan in order to justify his killing by Customs and Border Protection agents late last month on the streets of Minneapolis.
Video shows Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, was shot at least ten times by a pair of agents after being disarmed of a handgun, which he was carrying legally according to local police.
Within hours of the incident, the Trump administration had already begun to run with false claims that Pretti had "brandished" his weapon at agents, which were immediately disproven by video. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who first made the claim, has since backed off that characterization following criticism.
On social media, Vance shared a post in which senior White House adviser Stephen Miller described Pretti as a "would-be-assassin" who sought to "murder federal agents," a claim for which they have still not provided any evidence weeks later.
President Donald Trump himself told reporters last week that he did not believe Pretti was an assassin, even acknowledging that the shooting was a "mistake."
Even Miller, who rarely backs down from even the most extreme and outrageous statements, has since acknowledged that agents may not have been following protocol when they shot Pretti.
But Vance is not sorry. During an interview with the Daily Mail on Tuesday, when interviewer Philip Nieto asked if the vice president would apologize to Pretti's family, he retorted, "For what?" with a smirk.
"For, you know, labeling him an assassin with ill intent," Nieto answered.
“I just described to you what I said about Alex Pretti, which is that he’s a guy who showed up with ill intent to an ICE protest,” Vance responded, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nieto then asked if Vance would apologize if an FBI probe opened last week found that the officers involved in the shooting had violated Pretti's civil rights.
Vance, appearing exasperated, sighed, “So if this hypothetical leads to that hypothetical leads to another hypothetical—”
Nieto then interjected, "It's a real case that's open."
"Like I said, we're gonna let the investigation determine," Vance said.
Then, in the ultimate dose of irony, he continued: "I don’t think it’s smart to prejudge the investigation, I don’t think it’s fair to those ICE officers,” he said, misidentifying the agency responsible for the shooting as ICE rather than CBP.
He notably did not give his thoughts on whether it was similarly unfair to "prejudge" Pretti as an attempted murderer within hours of his killing.
A clip of the interaction garnered immediate disgust online.
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said that "JD Vance had the opportunity to be a normal human being and show some empathy for the family of a man who was murdered. To nobody's surprise, he’s doubling down on being an asshole."
Pedro Gonzalez, a right-wing activist who has since become fiercely critical of the Trump administration, said that with his "little smile after 'for what,'" Vance appeared to be "relishing the opportunity to seem cold-blooded."
He added, "What Vance really is at heart is a hollow shell of a man who defends the murderers of American citizens more vigorously than he has ever defended his own family from the bigots he's trying to court for 2028."
John Ganz, the author of the newsletter Unpopular Front, simply said Vance is the "most repulsive person in politics, and there is stiff competition."
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civil rightsminneapolistrump administrationus immigration and customs enforcementalex prettius customs and border protectionjd vanceus border patrol
Vice President JD Vance is refusing to apologize to the family of Alex Pretti after defaming the Minnesotan in order to justify his killing by Customs and Border Protection agents late last month on the streets of Minneapolis.
Video shows Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, was shot at least ten times by a pair of agents after being disarmed of a handgun, which he was carrying legally according to local police.
Within hours of the incident, the Trump administration had already begun to run with false claims that Pretti had "brandished" his weapon at agents, which were immediately disproven by video. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who first made the claim, has since backed off that characterization following criticism.
On social media, Vance shared a post in which senior White House adviser Stephen Miller described Pretti as a "would-be-assassin" who sought to "murder federal agents," a claim for which they have still not provided any evidence weeks later.
President Donald Trump himself told reporters last week that he did not believe Pretti was an assassin, even acknowledging that the shooting was a "mistake."
Even Miller, who rarely backs down from even the most extreme and outrageous statements, has since acknowledged that agents may not have been following protocol when they shot Pretti.
But Vance is not sorry. During an interview with the Daily Mail on Tuesday, when interviewer Philip Nieto asked if the vice president would apologize to Pretti's family, he retorted, "For what?" with a smirk.
"For, you know, labeling him an assassin with ill intent," Nieto answered.
“I just described to you what I said about Alex Pretti, which is that he’s a guy who showed up with ill intent to an ICE protest,” Vance responded, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nieto then asked if Vance would apologize if an FBI probe opened last week found that the officers involved in the shooting had violated Pretti's civil rights.
Vance, appearing exasperated, sighed, “So if this hypothetical leads to that hypothetical leads to another hypothetical—”
Nieto then interjected, "It's a real case that's open."
"Like I said, we're gonna let the investigation determine," Vance said.
Then, in the ultimate dose of irony, he continued: "I don’t think it’s smart to prejudge the investigation, I don’t think it’s fair to those ICE officers,” he said, misidentifying the agency responsible for the shooting as ICE rather than CBP.
He notably did not give his thoughts on whether it was similarly unfair to "prejudge" Pretti as an attempted murderer within hours of his killing.
A clip of the interaction garnered immediate disgust online.
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said that "JD Vance had the opportunity to be a normal human being and show some empathy for the family of a man who was murdered. To nobody's surprise, he’s doubling down on being an asshole."
Pedro Gonzalez, a right-wing activist who has since become fiercely critical of the Trump administration, said that with his "little smile after 'for what,'" Vance appeared to be "relishing the opportunity to seem cold-blooded."
He added, "What Vance really is at heart is a hollow shell of a man who defends the murderers of American citizens more vigorously than he has ever defended his own family from the bigots he's trying to court for 2028."
John Ganz, the author of the newsletter Unpopular Front, simply said Vance is the "most repulsive person in politics, and there is stiff competition."
Vice President JD Vance is refusing to apologize to the family of Alex Pretti after defaming the Minnesotan in order to justify his killing by Customs and Border Protection agents late last month on the streets of Minneapolis.
Video shows Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, was shot at least ten times by a pair of agents after being disarmed of a handgun, which he was carrying legally according to local police.
Within hours of the incident, the Trump administration had already begun to run with false claims that Pretti had "brandished" his weapon at agents, which were immediately disproven by video. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who first made the claim, has since backed off that characterization following criticism.
On social media, Vance shared a post in which senior White House adviser Stephen Miller described Pretti as a "would-be-assassin" who sought to "murder federal agents," a claim for which they have still not provided any evidence weeks later.
President Donald Trump himself told reporters last week that he did not believe Pretti was an assassin, even acknowledging that the shooting was a "mistake."
Even Miller, who rarely backs down from even the most extreme and outrageous statements, has since acknowledged that agents may not have been following protocol when they shot Pretti.
But Vance is not sorry. During an interview with the Daily Mail on Tuesday, when interviewer Philip Nieto asked if the vice president would apologize to Pretti's family, he retorted, "For what?" with a smirk.
"For, you know, labeling him an assassin with ill intent," Nieto answered.
“I just described to you what I said about Alex Pretti, which is that he’s a guy who showed up with ill intent to an ICE protest,” Vance responded, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nieto then asked if Vance would apologize if an FBI probe opened last week found that the officers involved in the shooting had violated Pretti's civil rights.
Vance, appearing exasperated, sighed, “So if this hypothetical leads to that hypothetical leads to another hypothetical—”
Nieto then interjected, "It's a real case that's open."
"Like I said, we're gonna let the investigation determine," Vance said.
Then, in the ultimate dose of irony, he continued: "I don’t think it’s smart to prejudge the investigation, I don’t think it’s fair to those ICE officers,” he said, misidentifying the agency responsible for the shooting as ICE rather than CBP.
He notably did not give his thoughts on whether it was similarly unfair to "prejudge" Pretti as an attempted murderer within hours of his killing.
A clip of the interaction garnered immediate disgust online.
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said that "JD Vance had the opportunity to be a normal human being and show some empathy for the family of a man who was murdered. To nobody's surprise, he’s doubling down on being an asshole."
Pedro Gonzalez, a right-wing activist who has since become fiercely critical of the Trump administration, said that with his "little smile after 'for what,'" Vance appeared to be "relishing the opportunity to seem cold-blooded."
He added, "What Vance really is at heart is a hollow shell of a man who defends the murderers of American citizens more vigorously than he has ever defended his own family from the bigots he's trying to court for 2028."
John Ganz, the author of the newsletter Unpopular Front, simply said Vance is the "most repulsive person in politics, and there is stiff competition."
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