‘The View’: Whoopi Goldberg Blasts White House for ‘Dancing’ Around Alex Pretti Killing Truth

The View cohosts continued to talk about the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse for the VA who was killed by an ICE agent, on Tuesday’s (January 27) new episode.

This time, the cohosts focused on Donald Trump‘s administration’s reaction to the widespread backlash it has received for both the fatal incident itself and the statements key officials made about the victim in press conferences and on social media.

“When I tell you yesterday, the White House was doing damage control on the way they handled this,” Whoopi Goldberg said, before introducing the first clip. “I mean, they were dancing. They were dancing around it.”

After then watching footage of of WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declining to agree with statements like Stephen Miller calling Pretti an “assassin” and “terrorist,” Goldberg added, “So I got two things to say about that. Clearly, she did not read anything the president had to say. She missed everything. And then I’m going to question how she does her job?”

The cohosts then reviewed new details, including that Greg Bovino was reportedly sidelined from his duties overseeing immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and is now expected to retire, and that Trump called Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey with was described as a different tone than had been in place before.

While Walz was optimistic about the potential for Trump to dial down the chaos from ICE activities, Alyssa Farah Griffin had a very different reaction.

“My major concern here is that I think the White House is seeing this as a messaging problem rather than a policy and execution problem. Greg Bovino has been sidelined. There’s reports that Krisi Noem may be on the way out, as well as her senior advisor. We don’t know that yet. But here’s the thing, it’s much more than that. The American public has always believed in securing the border and prosecuting and deporting undocumented migrants who committed violent offenses. We all agree on that; 97% of Americans do. What we don’t believe in is infringing on First Amendment rights, keeping databases on protesters, citizens baselessly being called ‘terrorists,’ saying the Second Amendment is essentially void, telling citizens to carry their papers just because, entering homes without warrants, capturing citizens in immigration raids, and killing U.S. citizens.”

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'The View' Cohosts Spend 30+ Minutes Reacting to Alex Pretti Killing by ICE: 'Straight-Up Murder'

“People are outraged,” Griffin continued. “Only 20% of Americans are saying that Alex Pretti’s killing was justified. That’s smaller than Trump’s base. That’s even his base is leaving him on this. So it’s a much bigger issue than messaging or who the face of it is. It is a top-down issue that needs to be addressed at every single line.”

Ana Navarro also had a bit of a speech to deliver, and it was one laying blame for Pretti’s death squarely on Trump: “Donald Trump owns this. Donald Trump owns this. What began supposedly as an operation about Somalis, some Somalis committing fraud, he escalated to what has become the complete occupation and terrorizing of an American city in Minneapolis. What did he think was going to happen? What did Donald Trump think was going to happen when a U.S. citizen gets killed, and his administration goes out there, and their reaction is to immediately call her a domestic terrorist — I’m talking about Renee Good — and then say that agents have absolute immunity, and then send thousands more agents to the streets of Minneapolis. What did he think was going to happen when the American people see a 5-year-old in a blue bunny hat being detained and used as bait to lure other people out of a household? What did he think was going to happen when the American people see the civil rights being trampled on, human rights being trampled on, due process being trampled on, people who sound and look like me being harassed and racially profiled? I admire the people of Minneapolis who have stood up, who have withstood below-freezing weather.”

She also had a message to first lady Melania Trump, who shared a message asking for peace: “To Melania, I would say, look, I’m glad you’re asking for peace. I’m really happy about that. But until and unless you get your husband to take those troops out of Minneapolis, until and unless we get a full, thorough, unbiased investigation, until and unless Krisi Noem gets fired… what Melania says, ‘I really don’t care, do you?'” (That last bit was a reference to the ingamous jacket she wore with those words on the back while visiting migrant children in detention camps during Trump’s first administration.)

Meanwhile, Sunny Hostin was heartened that local prosecutors are reviewing the case to see if state charges will be filed, which means Trump wouldn’t be able to issue a pardon for the officer involved, and Goldberg expressed gratitude to Minneapolis residents who didn’t escalate the violence.

And Sara Haines decided to direct her message about the matter to viewers. “Right now, I’m becoming so hopeless and numb to what waking up every day and turning on the TV, and when you kind of feel like it’s beating you down to a point that like you have to step away. And I would encourage people that it doesn’t mean you care less. It might mean you care too much. You’ve got to moderate how much you’re consuming on this because it’s taking a toll, and I see it in everyone, including myself, the people around me. So take a breath. Go local, do something for a friend or a neighbor, because there are ways you can effectuate change.”

The View, weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC