NBC News Exclusive: President Trump to Remove Hundreds of Federal Officers from Minnesota
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC News & KTVZ) - President Donald Trump announced the removal of 700 federal officers from Minnesota during an exclusive interview at the White House. The decision affects personnel assigned to immigration enforcement in the state.
In the interview with Tom Llamas, Trump stated that the removal of these officers comes as the federal government waits for local authorities to release specific prisoners, including those he identified as murderers and drug dealers, into federal custody. Trump attributed reported declines in crime across Minneapolis and other major U.S. cities to federal law enforcement actions.
Trump said the decision to withdraw the officers was prompted by local officials' handling of certain inmates. "Yes, it did. But it didn't come from me because I just wanted to do it," Trump said during the interview. "We have-- we are waiting for them to release prisoners, give us the murderers that they're holding and all of the bad people, drug dealers, all of the bad people."
The president claimed that crime in Minnesota and its largest city is currently trending downward because of federal efforts. "But we've gotten a lot of "em out. So crime now in Minnesota, crime now in Minneapolis is down," Trump said. "Crime in all cities is down." He further asserted that crime in Chicago has decreased by 25% under his administration.
Trump criticized local Democratic leadership for their approach to law enforcement. "And you know why it's down-- It's down because of us," Trump said. "It's down in Chicago by 25% despite the fact that we are always dealing with these [...] People and they happen to be Democrats-- that don't know anything about crime prevention."
Regarding his communication with Minnesota officials, Trump said he has had direct contact with both the governor and the mayor. He stated that despite what he described as "great conversations" during those private calls, he observed the officials criticized his administration publicly afterward.
When asked by Llamas what he learned from the situation in Minneapolis, Trump reflected on the balance of law enforcement tactics. "uhhm, I learned that uhhhh maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough. These are crim-- we're dealing with really hard criminals," Trump said.
Additional segments of the exclusive interview will air tonight on "Nightly News." The full interview is scheduled to broadcast on Super Bowl Sunday on NBC.
