The comments came after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who was legally carrying a handgun when he was wrestled to the ground, disarmed and killed by border agents during a protest in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Pretti’s death has left Trump navigating a treacherous political terrain, caught between defending aggressive federal law enforcement tactics and risking a rupture with a gun lobby that has long been one of his most dependable allies.
“You can’t have guns, you can’t walk in with guns, you can’t do that, but it’s a very unfortunate incident,” Trump told reporters when asked about Pretti’s death, which came days after an immigration agent killed unarmed activist Renee Good as she was attempting to drive away.
The Republican leader’s stance has put him at odds with influential conservative gun groups, which argue that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry firearms while exercising other constitutional rights, including peaceful assembly.
Gun rights advocates reacted angrily after senior officials appeared to suggest that Pretti’s lawful possession of a gun justified the agents’ actions.
The National Rifle Association said such claims were “dangerous and wrong,” urging public figures to await the outcome of an investigation rather than “demonising law-abiding citizens.”
Gun Owners of America said Americans do not surrender their right to bear arms when they protest.
Trump’s remarks also exposed tensions within his own political coalition.
The president softened the administration’s tone compared with some aides, rejecting the “assassin” label used baselessly by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller to describe Pretti.
But he did not retreat from the broader argument that armed protesters create an inherent threat to law enforcement.
That position has drawn criticism from libertarian-leaning Republicans, including Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, who said that “carrying a firearm is not a death sentence.”
And the debate risks reviving accusations of hypocrisy from Trump’s critics.
The congressional panel investigating the 2021 riot at the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters heard testimony from a senior White House aide that Trump knew some supporters at his rally were armed but demanded security checks be removed to allow them closer – before urging the crowd to march on Congress.
The contrast has sharpened Democratic attacks and unsettled parts of Trump’s base, particularly after the administration previously defended armed conservatives such as Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted after killing two people with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at a 2020 protest.