Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, we have the latest on the shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas. Plus, Andrea Mitchell examines what comes next for President Donald Trump after his shift on the Ukraine war and speech at the U.N.
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— Adam Wollner
One detainee dead, two injured in shooting at Dallas ICE office
Three detainees were shot at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas this morning, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Here’s what we know:
One person is dead and two other people are in critical condition, according to DHS. No ICE officers were hurt, Dallas police said at a news conference.
The shooter, who was found dead with a self-inflicted gun wound, has been identified as Joshua Jahn, according to multiple senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
A bullet found near the shooter bore messages that were “anti-ICE in nature,” Joe Rothrock, the special agent in charge of the Dallas FBI office, said at a news conference. He added that the attack was an act of “targeted violence.”
The reaction:
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that it was “despicable” that shell casings bore anti-ICE messaging, blaming “Radical Left Democrats.” Vice President JD Vance called the shooter a “violent left-wing extremist” at an event in North Carolina.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on “Meet the Press NOW“ that it was “unacceptable” for Trump and Vance “to try to exploit these terrible tragedies for political purposes.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that “politically motivated violence is wrong“ and called on politicians to stop “using rhetoric demonizing ICE and demonizing” Customs and Border Protection.
Texas state Rep. Rafael Anchía, a Democrat who represents part of Dallas County, told NBC News in a statement that “we will not allow this moment to be exploited for division or premature blame.”
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Trump’s U.N. sound and fury
Analysis by Andrea Mitchell
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s startling shift on the Ukraine war after an unusually friendly meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has European leaders asking: Is it real? Or is it only a tactic to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to finally negotiate?
One key factor at play here is Trump’s annoyance with Putin for escalating his bombardment of Ukraine after Trump’s premature victory lap at their Alaska summit last month.
The question now: Will Trump put his words into action? A top Ukrainian official told me the best way to squeeze Putin’s economy would be to sanction major Russian banks that still operate freely. That would have more impact than waiting for Congress to pass sanctions on China, the largest purchaser of Russian oil, or hoping the European Union overcomes opposition to tightening the economic noose on Putin allies Hungary and Slovakia.
Trump’s off-the-cuff comment that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that venture into their airspace also conflicted with the comments of his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who hours earlier brushed off the incursions.
Whether real or transitory, Trump’s switch on Ukraine has reassured European allies. But it didn’t erase their dismay over Trump’s lengthy speech to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, according to multiple attendees. Visiting delegates found Trump’s grievance-laden remarks hugely unsettling. Diplomats were buzzing over his insults about their policies on migration and climate change, such as calling green energy policies a scam and riffing about the danger of windmills.
Many delegates were also offended at being dressed down by the American president about their immigration policies while he bragged “I’m really good at this stuff” and said the United States is the “hottest country anywhere in the world.” Diplomats and world leaders aren’t used to being told their countries are “going to hell.”
Their resentment was mixed with ridicule over Trump’s complaints about not being hired to remodel the U.N. headquarters; he even chided them that they could have had real marble and mahogany instead of imitations. Many agree with his complaint that the U.N. is ineffective. But its current crisis has been exacerbated by the billions Trump has cut from the U.N.’s budget, crippling relief, health and climate initiatives.
Finally, the U.N. said the escalator Trump complained about had stopped because a White House videographer mistakenly triggered an emergency brake. And the U.N. said the White House was operating a faulty teleprompter during Trump’s speech.
Still, Trump wields unique power, as evidenced by the closing of most of midtown Manhattan to vehicular traffic while he was in the city, even barricading crosswalks ahead of his motorcades. One pedestrian caught in that blockade was another president, France’s Emmanuel Macron. News cameras captured him appealing to New York’s finest to let him cross. A mortified police officer told him, “I’m sorry, president, I’m really sorry, it’s just that everything is frozen right now.” That didn’t stop Macron from getting Trump on his cellphone and using the opportunity to chat him up about Gaza and Israel’s attack on Qatar.
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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