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Trump's lesson from Minneapolis: From the Politics Desk

This is the online version of From the Politics Desk, a daily 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 top lines from President Donald Trump’s interview with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas. Plus, Andrea Mitchell reports on the fallout from Trump’s decision to close the Kennedy Center for two years.

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— Adam Wollner

After the Minneapolis shootings, Trump says his administration could use 'a softer touch' on immigration

By Henry J. Gomez

President Donald Trump told NBC News today that he believes his administration could use “a softer touch” in its immigration enforcement operations after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens last month in Minneapolis.

“I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough,” Trump said in an Oval Office interview with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas. “We’re dealing with really hard criminals. But look, I’ve called the people. I’ve called the governor. I’ve called the mayor. Spoke to ‘em. Had great conversations with them. And then I see them ranting and raving out there. Literally as though a call wasn’t made.”

Trump has been engaged in a weekslong feud with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, two Democrats who have been highly critical of his immigration crackdown in the city and condemned the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, in separate incidents in January.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking administration officials had been quick to blame the fatal shootings on Good and Pretti, at several points characterizing them without evidence as domestic terrorists.

Video footage of the incidents also contradicted some initial claims that administration officials made to suggest the shootings were justified.

Trump’s remarks to NBC News reflect his continued shift in tone as national outrage over the killings takes hold. At a Jan. 20 White House briefing, Trump said that federal agents “make mistakes sometimes.”

Earlier in the day, border czar Tom Homan announced a withdrawal of 700 federal immigration agents from Minnesota. Asked by Llamas if that call had come from Trump, the president affirmed that it had.

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➡️ More from the interview: Trump said that his pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, would not have received the job offer had he expressed a desire to raise interest rates.

Tune in for Tom Llamas’ interview with President Donald Trump tonight on “Nightly News” at 6:30 p.m. ET, with an extended version on NBC News NOW’s “Top Story” at 7 p.m. ET and even more on Super Bowl Sunday on NBC.

Trump's Kennedy Center closure shocks the National Symphony Orchestra

By Andrea Mitchell

President Donald Trump’s decision to close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years starting this summer came with no notice to its largest tenant, the National Symphony Orchestra.

The symphony, known as the NSO, began playing at the Kennedy Center in 1971, 55 years ago. According to multiple members of the orchestra, they and their leaders only first learned of the plan from Trump’s Sunday night social media post. In it, Trump said that the arts center would close July 4 “for an approximately two year period of time.”

One person familiar with the situation told NBC News, “No one knew this was coming. We had no idea.”

His plan pending approval by his handpicked board, Trump wrote that the center was “tired, broken and dilapidated” and needed “Complete Rebuilding” to become “the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World.”

But for the NSO, the decision to shutter the center has created a scheduling nightmare. The orchestra performs three times a week during the season, totaling 150 concerts a year, not including rehearsals. Soloists are contracted years in advance.

Two people with knowledge of the orchestra’s plans told NBC News that orchestra management was already busy booking as far ahead as the 2028-2029 season.

The central question that orchestra supporters are asking is why the renovations couldn’t be accomplished while keeping sections of the complex open. The Kennedy Center’s last major renovation in 2019 did not require shutting it down.

This time, Trump has argued that if it did not close, “the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer.”

The sudden decision to shutter has created huge uncertainty for the musicians, whose contract expires later this year and would normally be renegotiated in the next few months.

One NSO staff member told NBC News: “There’s uncertainty that everyone is feeling right now with respect to their jobs. They are here to make music and they don’t want to get involved in politics. But every time they turn around, there is conflict around them.”

Read more from Andrea →

🗞️ Today's other top stories

⚖️ In the courts: Ryan Routh was sentenced to life in prison in federal court after he was found guilty last year of attempting to assassinate Trump. Read more →
🛣️ On the trail: Henry J. Gomez reports from Detroit on how Democrat-turned-independent Mike Duggan is scrambling Michigan’s race for governor. Read more →
🗳️ Race for the House: Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who was on duty during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, is running for Congress again in Maryland. Read more →
🗺️ Redistricting roundup: The Supreme Court allowed California to use a new congressional map that voters approved, delivering a major victory for Democrats ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Read more →
🗣️ Take this job and shove it: A government attorney who was representing the Justice Department in court is no longer detailed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota after telling a judge her job “sucks” and asking to be held in contempt so she “could get 24 hours of sleep.” Read more →