The response to Preeti’s killing highlights the challenges the Trump administration faces with confidence and credibility

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bill Cassidy didn’t simply criticize the anti-immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

In the wake of the killing of Alex Jeffrey Peretti at the hands of a US Border Patrol agent, the Louisiana Republican warned of broader ramifications for the federal government.

“The credibility of ICE and DHS is at stake,” Cassidy wrote in a social media post, referring to ICE and DHS. “There must be a full, joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.”

Trust is one of a president’s most valuable currencies, especially in a time of crisis. During his second term, President Donald Trump has consistently undermined and taken punitive actions against major universities, national law firms, and the media. His supporters either supported these actions or remained silent.

Now the question of credibility is directed at his administration. While the criticism is not directly aimed at the president by his supporters, it is a sign of eroding trust in some of his most important policies. Administration officials gave one account of the Minneapolis shooting, and a contemporary video gave a very different account.

In the hours after Prete was killed, senior Trump officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, were quick to describe Prete as an instigator who “approached” officers with a gun and acted violently. But videos from the scene show Pretty being pushed by an officer before being attacked by six agents.

He watches: You can’t get weapons. ‘You can’t go in with guns,’ Trump says of Alex Peretti’s killing.

During the fight, he was holding a phone, but was never seen brandishing the 9mm semi-automatic handgun that police say he was licensed to carry. The department said investigations are continuing, although information has not yet emerged to support some of the provocative initial allegations.

“We trust that our national leaders will accurately tell us about the world that we do not directly experience but about which they have knowledge,” said Kathleen Hall Jamison, director of the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. “If someone is credible in this role, their description of reality should match your perception of reality if you are an honest and just person.”

The White House appeared to be trying to ease the conflict on Monday. Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke and both indicated their conversation was productive. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, who has been at the center of the administration’s aggressive campaign across the country, is expected to leave Minneapolis soon.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt sought to distance Trump from some of the initial allegations about Pretty — including allegations that he is a domestic terrorist — noting that they did not come from the president himself.

However, lawmakers from both parties — including many Republicans — have called for independent investigations and, perhaps more importantly, trust.

In his call for a “transparent and independent investigation,” Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, wrote to voters online, saying: “You trusted me, and maintaining that trust is important.”

“I disagree with the Secretary of Homeland Security’s premature response, which came before all the facts were known and undermined confidence,” he wrote.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is pushing for an amendment to a DHS funding bill that would mandate independent investigations into DHS, ICE, and Customs and Border Patrol. She has not yet received Republican Party support for the measure, but she said in a statement, “This is not a red or blue issue.”

“It’s about truth and accountability,” she said.

Feeding social media platforms with content

Trump and his team have spent much of his second term painstakingly feeding social media platforms with content to engage their most loyal supporters in ways that independent fact-checkers have found to be distorted or baseless. During its campaign against immigration, the administration’s accounts posted inappropriate photos of people who were detained.

The extent of the photo-manipulation efforts became clear last week when the White House posted a photo on its Page The photo was captioned in capital letters: “Far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong arrested for organizing church riots in Minnesota.”

A photo posted by Noem’s account showed the same photo with Levi Armstrong wearing a neutral expression.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, raised false claims online that Haitians in the Ohio community were kidnapping and eating pets. When pressed on the issue, Vance said he was amplifying the allegations to draw attention to the immigration policies advocated by Democrats.

“If I had to write stories so that the American media would actually care about the suffering of the American people, that’s what I would do,” Vance said at the time, quickly explaining that he had “created the focus that allowed the media to talk about this story and the suffering that the policies are causing.”

Trump is not the first president to face questions about trust.

Bosses and credibility

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration was pushed back by his handling of the Vietnam War, which ushered in an era of widespread skepticism about Washington. Only 38% of Americans said last year that they had at least a fair amount of confidence in the federal government’s ability to handle domestic problems, according to Gallup polls. This is down from 70% in 1972.

Once they leave the White House, presidents are often candid about mistakes that eroded their credibility. In his memoirs, President George W. Bush wrote about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which served as the basis for waging a deadly and costly war there.

“This was a huge blow to our credibility, to my credibility,” he wrote. “No one was more shocked or angry than me when we didn’t find the weapons. I had a sickening feeling every time I thought about it. I still do.”

President Joe Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan marked a turning point in his administration. In her 2024 campaign memoir, Vice President Kamala Harris wrote about her disapproval of Biden’s campaign talking points after his poor debate performance.

“I wasn’t about to tell the American people that their eyes lied,” she wrote. “I will not jeopardize my credibility.”

But none of this compares to the credibility challenge facing Trump, according to Barbara Perry, co-director of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, who has noted the sheer volume of lies and exaggerations that have emerged from his administration.

“Donald Trump is unique,” ​​she said. “If you counted all the times he dribbled, it would have to outshine all the other presidencies.”