BLINK: What the Regime’s Backtrack Tells Us

When an “unstoppable force” meets an “immovable object,” you find out where the real power is.

Jan 27, 2026

After over a month of waging kinetic and psychological war on Minnesota using federal agents, resulting in thousands of victims of harassment, kidnapping and violence—and two extrajudicial executions—the Trump regime blinked. At least a little.

Trump and Governor Tim Walz had a conversation Monday morning, and Trump has pulled both Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino out of Minneapolis—and replaced them with Tom “$50K in a paper bag” Homan to run “Operation Metro Surge” and be the “point of contact” in Minnesota.

Moreover, Trump has apparently decided to make changes at DHS, including firing Bovino—and potentially Kristi Noem as well.

Backtrack

The reason for this backtrack is that the reaction to the murder of VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti has been fierce, and penetrated to a layer of the electorate largely silent until this point. Social media is brimming with posts from people starting with the equivalent of “I don’t like to talk about politics here, and I may lose some followers, but…”

For example, the NBA Players Association, not normally a political entity “can no longer remain silent”:

In Minnesota, a leading contender for the GOP gubernatorial nomination dropped out.

"I cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so." —Chris Madel

The regime’s attempt to short circuit the narrative—by instantly painting an innocent man who was trying to help a woman to her feet as a “domestic terrorist” and an “assassin” who was ready to commit a “massacre”—immediately went sideways and has been getting steadily worse for them. With each video, each testimonial about the victim, and every attempt by the regime to cover it up, the story gets uglier.

Second Amend-what?

Not only was it obvious to anyone who saw the video that Alex Pretti presented no threat whatsoever, when regime officials used the mere fact that he had a holstered firearm as a reason to execute him—after he was disarmed—they ran into a buzzsaw from many in their own base.

“Any gun owner knows when you are carrying a weapon and are confronted by law enforcement, you are raising the assumption of risk and the risk of force being used against you.“ —Karoline Leavitt, WH Press Secretary 1/26/26

While the Second Amendment has been abused to insert nearly half a billion firearms into the U.S. population, even Trump’s cult understands that the law is supposed apply to everyone equally. This has caused a wave of cognitive dissonance and consternation inside MAGA who have been taught for decades that the “right to bear arms” is the most important right of all—and that they should celebrate teenage double-murderer Kyle Rittenhouse.

Even right-wing stenographers like the NY Post and the NRA are unhappy with the optics.

Trump’s regime has backed itself into a corner and is now trying to find a way out. When asked whether Trump agreed with Stephen Miller’s characterization of Alex Pretti as an “assassin,” Leavitt said: “I have not heard the President characterize him that way.”

Trump is throwing his own people under the bus as fast as he can find them.

Three Blinks, What Gives?

This retreat in Minnesota, to the extent it holds, is Trump’s third significant walk back in the last week—all from self-inflicted wounds. First, Trump’s epic failure to bully Denmark into giving up Greenland. Second, his backtrack on the contribution of NATO allies in Afghanistan—after Trump lied that they “were a little bit back from the frontlines.”

Trump’s “appalling” comments received a truly remarkable series of denouncements by European leaders like Keir Starmer.

While Trump didn’t exactly apologize, he did make a “rare clarification.”

Trump’s regime is deeply—and increasingly—unpopular, both at home and abroad. And the fact that it still reacts to external sentiment at all is notable at this point. At least someone in the White House wants to pretend that elections matter to them.

Regardless, this is just public relations, not correcting the problem. Or getting justice.

Don’t Get Your Hopes Up

Despite Trump’s multi-front retreat, his core dilemma has not diminished. His DOJ is currently 38 days late in producing the Epstein files. This remains Trump’s core psychological and policy driver. He needs drama, distractions and chaos—so people forget that he’s obviously hiding his crimes with a notorious pedophile.

Of course, Trump’s pullback is welcome news, but it must be seen by the opposition as a strategic move, not a substantive one. While there may be a slight lessening of hostile paramilitary force in American cities in the short term, the racism, sadism, and psychopathy of Stephen Miller and his cohorts has not gone anywhere. Moreover, accountability for the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti cannot stop at firing Greg Bovino. Or Kristi Noem.

Now that Trump has exhausted his options in Venezuela, Europe, and Minnesota, the only thing we know for certain is that Trump will find a new set of targets. It is his only mode of operation.

Who it will be is anyone’s guess, but Trump has sent an aircraft carrier group into the Middle East—giving him a better capacity to attack Iran.

Trump must continue to raise the stakes in his long game of hiding the ball from Americans. If he has to start WWIII to do it, he will.

Regardless, I’m damn proud of Minnesota—and the American people—for waging a successful battle. We collectively fought back, and Trump did, in fact, back down. That’s something to hold on to while we take a deep breath, and start again tomorrow.

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