Almost immediately after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed an unarmed woman in Minneapolis, the Trump administration wasted little time settling on a narrative that it expected Americans to believe: The victim, a 37-year-old mother named Renee Nicole Good, was the villain of the story.
As far as the White House and its allies were concerned, Good had committed “an act of domestic terrorism,” as part of a “coordinated” conspiratorial effort, hatched by people “being trained” to use vehicles as weapons.
The unbelievable claims were discredited by video evidence and by local officials. The president and his team peddled the lines anyway, hoping not only to smear the victim but also to convince Americans not to believe their lying eyes.
There’s some evidence to suggest those efforts haven’t worked, at least not yet.
The latest Economist/YouGov poll, for example, found that the vast majority of Americans are familiar with what transpired in Minneapolis, and by a 20-point margin, people saw the shooting as unjustified (50% vs. 30%). The same survey found that a 56% majority of Americans believe that both state and federal officials should be responsible for investigating the shooting, which is the opposite of the Trump administration’s position.
Just as notably, the Economist/YouGov poll found that a 47% plurality said ICE is making Americans less safe, while a 46% plurality said ICE should be abolished altogether.








