Trouble for Trump: Even Ted Budd disagrees with him out loud | Opinion
The killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis has been a wake-up call for many Americans. Remarkably, it also seems to have woken up many Republicans, who’ve been perpetually hitting the snooze button when it comes to criticizing Donald Trump.
Pretti’s killing drew familiar criticism from U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who, since announcing his retirement, has emerged as one of the Trump administration’s fiercest Republican critics. But more importantly, it prompted a rare statement from U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, who typically defends Trump in sticky situations or avoids them entirely.
On Tuesday, Budd called for the incident to be fully investigated and said of “initial rushes to judgment did not meet the standard that Americans should expect from their government officials.”
That’s certainly an understatement, and Budd then spent the next several paragraphs reiterating his support for Trump’s immigration agenda and blaming Minnesota leaders and protesters for escalating the whole thing. But coming from a staunch Trump ally like Budd, the poke was noteworthy. Other Trump allies spoke up, too. The National Rifle Association came out criticizing officials who suggested that shooting Pretti was justified because he was legally carrying a gun. Even Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is exceedingly deferential to Trump, said ICE needs to “recalibrate.”
But it wasn’t necessarily what they said that mattered. It was that so many of them said something at all, finally behaving like the responsible public officials Americans expect them to be.
Tillis, and the small number of Republicans who have been speaking out with him, might finally be teaching their colleagues a lesson: there is safety, and power, in numbers. If Trump gets enough pushback from his own party, he might dial his own behavior back, because their words and actions matter.
It’s clear that Trump is listening, because the result has been small, incremental progress. Certainly nothing can undo the horror of Pretti’s death, or the killing of another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good, at the hands of federal agents just weeks before. But there are signs of retreat and deescalation. Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, the cruel, dishonest face of Trump’s immigration crackdown, left Minneapolis and has reportedly been removed from his role. Two of the Trump administration’s biggest liabilities, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, remain in place for now.
Even Tillis’ criticism, as steady as it has been, has reached a new level. He’s been particularly outspoken about Miller, who he has rightly called “amateurish” and “stupid.” But this week, he also became the first Senate Republican to call for “incompetent” Noem to step down or be fired. Trump dismissed that, calling Tillis a loser. Tillis fired back: “I am thrilled about that. That makes me qualified to be homeland security secretary and senior adviser to the president.” The old Tillis wouldn’t have stepped up his criticism in response to Trump’s pushback. He would have backed down.
Perhaps what happened in Minneapolis — and the administration’s subsequent response — represented a lawlessness and moral depravity Republicans felt they could no longer defend. It’s just as likely, though, that it came from a place of self-preservation. Republicans, who have long held the upper hand on immigration, are losing it just ahead of a crucial midterm election. The Trump administration’s agenda is costing the party, and Republicans know voters’ patience is waning. Take it from Tillis, who said, “We should own the issue of border security and immigration, but [Miller and Noem] have destroyed that for Republicans. … They have destroyed it through their incompetence.”
Let’s hope this represents a shift, and not a blip, in how Republicans approach Trump and his presidency. Because this is proof that the world won’t come down on them if they publicly disagree with the president. It might even be helpful.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Trouble for Trump: Even Ted Budd disagrees with him out loud | Opinion."
