Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel unleashed a scathing critique of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, calling him a “maniac” for his response to the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The confrontation unfolded on a residential street in Minneapolis, where an ICE agent shot Renee Nicole Good, 37 years old, during an encounter involving ICE agents and demonstrators. Video footage of the shooting went viral online, showing an agent firing three times into Good’s vehicle as she pulled her car away from him.
Trump took to social media to describe the incident, saying the woman was disorderly and resisting. The president said Good ran over an ICE officer and described the shooting as self-defense.
Kimmel addressed Trump’s response during his Wednesday night show, introducing the president’s statement with heavy sarcasm. “And of course, our president weighed in with compassion,” Kimmel said before reading Trump’s post aloud.
“This maniac,” Kimmel said, referring to the president’s characterization of events.
The host took particular issue with Trump’s claim that Good had run over the ICE agent. Kimmel said the video showed the woman getting scared. He said Good tried to drive away, and Kimmel said nobody got run over in video.
“Now, I saw this video. It didn’t look like anybody got run over to me,” Kimmel said during his monologue. “It looked to me like a woman got scared, tried to drive away, and they shot her.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered an emphatic response to the Department of Homeland Security’s characterization of the shooting. Frey called the self-defense claim bullshit. The mayor said the agent recklessly used power. Frey told ICE to get out of Minneapolis in explicit terms.
Kimmel’s audience cheered loudly at Frey’s forceful remarks. The host joined in the applause by revealing a custom t-shirt supporting Frey’s message.
Good was identified by her mother, Donna Ganger. The victim was a U.S. citizen who leaves behind a 6-year-old son. Good was previously married to Timmy Ray Macklin Jr., who died in 2023 at 36 years old.
The Department of Homeland Security described the episode as domestic terrorism. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other administration officials have defended the agent’s actions. Eyewitnesses disputed the DHS account of what transpired during the confrontation.
A CNN analyst said the shooting conflicts with DHS guidance on the use of force. The shooting has intensified scrutiny of ICE’s operational procedures and the circumstances under which agents are authorized to use lethal force.
Fox News host Jesse Watters faced backlash for his comments about Good during his Wednesday broadcast. Watters said Good had pronouns in her bio. He said Good was a self-proclaimed poet. Watters said Good leaves behind a lesbian partner, referring to her personal life in what critics characterized as gratuitous detail unrelated to the incident itself.
The broader context of the shooting involves heightened immigration enforcement activities under the Trump administration. ICE has increased its presence in cities across the country, conducting operations that local officials in some jurisdictions have resisted. The tension between federal immigration enforcement and local government authority has created flashpoints in multiple cities.
Minneapolis has been a focal point for debates over immigration policy and law enforcement tactics. The city’s leadership has taken positions that place it at odds with federal immigration authorities. Mayor Frey’s statement reflects a broader municipal stance on ICE operations within city limits.
Earlier in his monologue, Kimmel referenced Senator Lindsey Graham’s warning to Iran. Graham warned Iran that Trump will kill the ayatollah if the country does not change its behavior.
The incident has reignited national conversations about the appropriate use of force by federal agents and the accountability mechanisms in place when such shootings occur. Legal experts note that investigations into officer-involved shootings by federal agents follow different protocols than local police shootings, often involving multiple agencies and layers of review.
The viral nature of the video has ensured widespread public attention to the case. Social media platforms amplified the footage, leading to rapid dissemination and immediate public reaction. The speed with which such incidents now reach public consciousness has changed the dynamics of how law enforcement actions are scrutinized and debated.
As the investigation continues, questions remain about what legal proceedings will follow and whether the agent involved will face criminal charges. The case will likely test the boundaries of self-defense claims in situations involving moving vehicles and disputed accounts of threat levels.
The clash between federal authority and local governance, combined with questions about the justification for lethal force, ensures the case will remain in the public spotlight as more details emerge and legal proceedings advance.