The voices of late night are joining the many Americans who are outraged over the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration officers.
Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert kicked off their respective shows Monday night, calling out the Trump administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as tensions continue to soar following the second fatal shooting by ICE in the Minnesota city (Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an agent on Jan. 7).
“Just one atrocity after another, being committed by this gang of poorly-trained, shamefully-led, mask-wearing goons. And that is what they are — they’re goons committing vile, heartless and even criminal acts. And it’s sickening to watch,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “It’s like we’re all being forced to play a game that has no rules. They just make up the rules as they go along.”
The host also slammed the Trump administration over how quickly they were to cast Pretti as an armed instigator before he was shot, despite videos emerging from the scene and local officials contradicting that claim, the Associated Press reported.
“Is that the law and order that you voted for? If you voted for this? Every day is a nightmare now,” Kimmel added. “My wife and I have family in Minneapolis — they’re afraid to take their kids to school. They’re afraid to go to work. And I can only imagine how people who aren’t white feel about this! How does this end? What’s the plan here? Is the plan to just keep doing this in every city that didn’t vote for Donald Trump? Does anyone on any side believe this is good leadership?”
The host continued, “We keep saying we need to find subjects that we can agree on — can we agree that peaceful protestors, including moms driving SUVs on their way back after dropping their six year-old off at school and a nurse, who stepped in to protect a woman from harm, don’t deserve to be shot dead in the street by the people we are paying to protect us. Can we agree on that? I mean, can we agree that when we see a person murdered in cold blood, that there should at least be an investigation of that?”
Kimmel demanded that it’s time to “cut the bullshit already” because “if that was ISIS instead of ICE, we’d be firing missiles at somebody and pledging allegiance to the flag all together right now.”
After detailing what transpired over the weekend in Minneapolis that led to Pretti’s death, Colbert also criticized the Department of Homeland Security for describing the incident as a defensive action against an armed threat, despite eyewitness videos displaying a vastly different narrative.
“Masked government agents disarmed an American citizen and then executed him in the streets. That’s what it looks like,” he said on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “They want you to believe that something didn’t happen when we all saw it happen with our own eyes. It’s like claiming that Alan Cumming doesn’t serve looks on The Traitors, when there’s plenty of evidence that he feeds us.”
Colbert also took some time during his monologue to pay tribute to Pretti and the work he did as an intensive care nurse at a Veterans Affairs facility.
“The truth is Pretti was on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and a beloved mentor to nurses stepping into the intimidating environment of the intensive care unit. His colleagues say he was the kind of nurse patients remembered,” Colbert continued. “This administration has no idea the mistake they just made. They’re messing with nurses now. They’re underpaid, overworked and they’re the ones who have to deal with Dr. Robby’s inner demons. You stupid old men really wanna cross the people in charge with putting in your catheters? Believe me, they can do it the lubricated way or the unlubricated way. You just made your choice.”
“The Trump administration wants fear. And Minnesotans are responding with community,” the host concluded, highlighting the peaceful protests taking place across Minnesota. “Seeing Minnesotans react to brutality with grace reminds us all that standing up for our neighbors is our duty as Americans, as Alex Pretti said himself, as he honored a deceased veteran who had been in his care. Today, we remember that freedom is not free. We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it and even sacrifice for it. May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom.”
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