Sen. Lindsey Graham defends Noem, Miller over labeling man killed by Border Patrol
NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., on Tuesday defended Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller after Sen. Thom Tillis, RN.C., criticized the couple for calling the American citizen killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis a “domestic terrorist.”
Tillis was the first Senate Republican to call for Noem to be fired after the killing of Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot by federal agents while filming immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis over the weekend.
“What he did in Minnesota should disqualify him. He should be out of a job,” Tillis told reporters earlier Tuesday. “It’s newbies. It’s very bad. It makes the president look bad with the policy he won. [President Donald Trump] succeeded with a strong message about immigration. Now, nobody talks about that. … They’re talking about the incompetence of the leader of Homeland Security.”
Noem and Miller “told the president before they had an incident report that the person who died was a terrorist. That’s a rookie hour,” Tillis added.
SENATE GOP CRITICS SAY NOEM ‘MUST GO’ AMID FALLOUT FROM MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTINGS
Sen. Lindsey Graham defended Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In response to Tillis, Graham said someone “must have a very high opinion of himself” if he believed he could get President Donald Trump to distance himself from Miller.
“I’ve known Stephen Miller for a very long time. We have our differences, but we have a lot in common. When the clock strikes midnight on President Trump, there will be very few on his side. One will be Stephen Miller. If you don’t get that, you’ve missed a lot. No one has helped Trump more than Stephen Miller,” Graham told Fox News’ Chad Pergram.
“To convince yourself that you can get Trump to distance himself from Stephen Miller, you have to have a very high opinion,” he continued.
The South Carolina lawmaker added: “To my fellow Republicans, you have to understand that President Stephen Miller’s trust in him has been strong and unwavering. And Miller is part of that group.”
Sen. Thom Tillis was the first Senate Republican to call for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired after the killing of Alex Pretti. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed Saturday by the Border Patrol while filming immigration operations in Minneapolis. An ICU nurse, Pretti was seen trying to look after a woman who was knocked down when she was sprayed with an offensive substance, pushed to the ground and beaten. The agent was seen pulling Pretti’s legally held gun from his waistband before other agents fired multiple shots, killing him.
Noem was quick to call Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” and Miller described him as something “like a murderer,” both unsubstantiated claims that caused bipartisan backlash.
The White House sought to distance itself from Noem and Miller’s comments, with White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt saying she “didn’t hear the president describe” Pretti that way.
But despite calls from Democrats and Republican lawmakers to fire Noem over his response to Pretti’s murder, Trump expressed confidence in the secretary to continue leading DHS.
NY POST, WSJ, NY TIMES AND WASHINGTON POST BIBLES WITH TRUMP ADMIN ON ICE OPERATION IN MINNEAPOLIS
President Donald Trump expressed confidence in DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to continue leading the department. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
“I think he’s doing a great job. The border is completely secure. You know, you forget that we had a border that I found where millions of people were crossing. Now we have a border where no one is crossing. They only come into our country legally,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
Asked if he agreed with Noem and Miller calling Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and a “murderer,” the president said he had not heard those comments.
“Well, I didn’t hear that. He shouldn’t have had a gun,” Trump said.
Trump also said that the shooting was “a very sad situation” and he wanted a “very dignified and honest investigation” that he wanted to see for himself.
