The second term of US President Donald Trump has been rocked by a fatal shooting involving immigration agents and a subsequent wave of official misinformation, alongside a massive withdrawal from global agreements. The events of the last 24 hours represent a potential inflection point, testing public faith and America's international standing.
Contradictions and Chaos in Minnesota
The incident began when an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 8, 2026. Video footage shows the driver attempting to steer her SUV away from officers before shots were fired at point-blank range.
President Trump's response, posted on Truth Social, contained significant falsehoods. He claimed video showed the driver had "violently, wilfully and viciously ran over" the ICE agent, leaving him injured and "recovering in hospital." No evidence supports these claims; publicly available video does not show the agent being struck, and there have been no reports of his hospitalisation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem escalated the rhetoric swiftly, labelling the event an "act of domestic terrorism." She asserted ICE officers were "stuck in the snow" and attacked, a narrative contradicted by footage showing clear streets.
Backlash and a Chilling Media Response
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz delivered a forceful rebuke, stating, "We don't need further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you've done enough." He criticised the "total chaos" of the federal response and the premature conclusions. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was more blunt, dismissing the official self-defence claim as "bulls**t" and urging ICE to leave the state.
Fox News host Jesse Watters provoked outrage by focusing on the victim's personal life in a disparaging monologue, noting her pronouns and describing her as a "disruptor." Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez later refused an invitation to appear on his show, citing his past "sexually exploitative rhetoric" towards her, including a claim she wanted to sleep with former advisor Stephen Miller.
A Silent Retreat from Global Stage
Amid the domestic crisis, the White House executed a sweeping foreign policy move. Late on January 8, it announced the United States would withdraw from 66 international organisations and treaties.
The list, stemming from a review by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, includes critical bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and UN agencies tackling violence against children, sexual violence in conflict, and child soldiers. The withdrawal was authorised by an executive order deeming these bodies "Contrary to the Interests of the United States."
This dual storm of events—a tragic death met with official disinformation and a wholesale retreat from multilateralism—echoes pivotal moments from Trump's first term, like the Charlottesville aftermath. It finds a president emboldened by recent actions in Venezuela, yet facing plummeting poll numbers and a nation deeply divided over the use of federal power and the truth itself.
