Watch Jesse Ventura condemn President Trump after Minneapolis ICE shooting
Jesse Ventura called President Trump a “draft-dodging coward,” threatened to run for mayor again, and criticized members of Congress in the wake of the ICE shooting.
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Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has criticized President Donald Trump and threatened to run for re-election after being fatally shot by an immigration officer in his home state.
“(Trump) was a coward who was a draft evader, and when he served his country, he did what every rich white kid would do. I wasn’t a rich white kid. We had to go,” Ventura, 74, told local reporters on January 8 when asked for his response to the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis. “Can you tell me what courage is?”
Good’s death, which was captured on video by a bystander, sparked protests and condemnation from local and state authorities, who refuted the Trump administration’s claim that the agents acted in self-defense.
Ventura says Minneapolis shooting ‘didn’t have to happen’
“What happened yesterday didn’t have to happen,” Ventura told reporters, calling Good’s shooting a “tragedy” and a “murder.”
“We’re in the Third World now. You want to know why? I’m an expert. I’ve been there. I spent 17 months in Southeast Asia while draft dodgers played golf,” said Ventura, who served as governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003 and is inducted into the WWE Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Ventura is a former Navy SEAL and Vietnam veteran. Mr. Trump was of the generation eligible for the Vietnam War, but after receiving several student draft deferments and medical exemptions, he did not serve.
Some lawmakers are calling for the arrest of Minneapolis shooting suspect Jonathan Ross in court documents. The day after Goode’s shooting, two people were injured in another shooting by federal agents in Portland, Oregon.
The shooting highlighted growing tensions between the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to deport illegal immigrants and local leaders who oppose it.
“Freedom doesn’t mean arresting people without a warrant,” Ventura said. “We have a system here. It’s called the Constitution, and we have a party called the Republican Party, and they don’t seem to want to abide by the Constitution.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House regarding Ventura’s comments.
After Waltz declines re-election, “Maybe it’s Jesse’s turn”
Ventura’s comments came days after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he would not run for a third term.
Walz was the Democratic nominee for vice president in Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign, but withdrew her re-election bid amid mounting pressure over allegations of fraud in the state’s social welfare programs.
“Maybe it’s Jesse’s turn. I’ve only served one term. I owe a second term,” Ventura said.
Natalie Neisa Alland is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
