On Thursday, the Vice President attributed the involving a federal immigration officer to “a left-wing network,” Democrats, the news media, and the deceased woman, as protests over her death spread to cities nationwide.
The vice president—who delivered his criticisms during a rare appearance in the White House briefing room and on social media—marked the most high-profile instance to date of the Trump administration rapidly assigning blame for the death of 37-year-old while the investigation remains ongoing. Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer as she attempted to drive away on a snowy residential street, with officers conducting an operation tied to the administration’s immigration crackdown at the time.
At the White House, Vance stated he was not concerned about the into Good’s death, commenting on the videos he’d viewed of the Wednesday incident: “What you see is what you get in this case.”
Vance claimed he was certain Good accelerated her car toward the officer and struck him. However, the videos do not clearly show whether the vehicle made contact with the officer. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated Wednesday that footage of the shooting renders arguments about the officer acting in self-defense “garbage.”
The vice president also noted he felt “very, very sad” for Good in part. He labeled her “brainwashed” and “a victim of left-wing ideology.”
“I can acknowledge her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing it’s a tragedy of her own doing and a tragedy caused by the far left, which has rallied an entire movement—a lunatic fringe—against our law enforcement officers,” Vance stated.
His defense of the officer, which was fiery at times, came as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump similarly asserted the officer’s actions were a justified act of self-defense. Trump claimed Good “viciously ran over” the ICE officer, though video footage of the incident contradicts this assertion.
Trump has positioned a broad crackdown on crime and immigration in Democratic cities as a key part of his second term in office. He has deployed federal law enforcement personnel and to back the operations, and has suggested invoking to attempt to prevent his opponents from blocking his plans via the courts.
Trump administration officials made it clear they were dismissing claims from Democrats and Minnesota officials that the president’s decision to deploy immigration officers in U.S. cities was inflammatory and required termination.
“The Trump administration will intensify our efforts to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal alien killers, rapists, and pedophiles from American streets,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Thursday before Vance spoke.
She described Good’s death as “a product of a large, sinister left-wing movement.”
Vance was chosen as Trump’s running mate last year in part due to his skill at verbal sparring, particularly with the media. He began his comments by criticizing headlines he had seen about the shooting, raising his voice at times and denouncing the “corporate media.”
“This was an assault on law and order. This was an assault on the American people,” Vance stated.
He accused journalists of inaccurately depicting Good as “innocent” and declared: “You should be ashamed of yourselves. Every single one of you.”
“The manner in which the media, for the most part, has covered this story is an absolute disgrace,” he added. “And it endangers our law enforcement officers every single day.”
When asked about the responsibility he and Trump hold to ease tensions in the country surrounding the incident, Vance stated their duty was to “protect the individuals enforcing the law and safeguard the country as a whole.”
“The most effective way to lower the temperature is to tell people to bring their immigration policy concerns to the ballot box,” he said.
Vance also revealed that the administration is appointing a new assistant attorney general to pursue cases of government assistance program abuse, in response to increasing attention on .
He noted the prosecutor will focus mainly on Minnesota and will be nominated in the coming days. Vance added that Senate Majority Leader John Thune informed him he would push for quick confirmation.
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Associated Press journalists Konstantin Toropin, Will Weissert, and Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report.