JD Vance Dismisses Calls to Apologize for Defaming Slain Nurse

Video evidence confirms that the 37-year-old Pretti was shot at least ten times by agents after he had already been disarmed of a legally carried handgun. Despite these findings, the Trump administration initially claimed Pretti had brandished his weapon, a narrative pushed by officials including senior adviser Stephen Miller. While President Donald Trump has since acknowledged the shooting as a potential mistake, Vance continues to maintain that Pretti arrived at the scene with ill intent.

During a Tuesday interview with the Daily Mail, Vance dismissed questions about a potential apology as hypothetical. He argued that it would be unfair to prejudge the ongoing FBI investigation into the agents' conduct, a stance that drew sharp criticism given his own swift public labeling of Pretti as a murderer. In the same exchange, Vance mistakenly identified the federal agency involved as ICE rather than CBP. The interaction has sparked widespread condemnation, with Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin accusing the vice president of lacking basic empathy, while right-wing activist Pedro Gonzalez described the display as a cold-blooded performance.