How NBC Is Siding With the Trump Administration to Let the ICE Officer Off the Hook in the Renee Good Shooting

By Cliff Potts, WPS News

NBC’s coverage of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis isn’t just straight journalism — it reflects and reinforces the Trump administration’s narrative in ways that can soften the officer’s legal and moral accountability. The way NBC frames the incident, what details it highlights, and how it positions conflicting accounts subtly aligns with the White House line that Ross acted in self-defense and should not be prosecuted, even as key evidence challenges that interpretation.

Right out of the gate, NBC emphasizes and repeatedly republishes video footage supplied or shaped by the federal government — most notably the cellphone video from Ross himself. This is footage that inherently reflects the shooter’s perspective and situational framing, not an independent view of what happened. By leading with this footage and presenting it as primary evidence, NBC amplifies an account that the Trump administration has said supports its claim that the officer acted appropriately rather than critically questioning the conditions of the encounter.

Beyond simply showing the video, NBC’s reporting repeats federal officials’ characterizations and timing of events before fully unpacking discrepancies. President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rushed to label Good’s actions as violent and justify Ross’s gunfire as “self-defense” and even “defending against terrorism,” statements NBC reports early in its articles. That ordering gives institutional authority a priority that, in media framing terms, can tilt readers toward assuming the official account is the baseline fact.

Then there’s the way NBC handles contradictory evidence. Eyewitness and third-party video footage shows that the moments leading up to the shooting — including Good’s car movement relative to the officer — do not clearly support the administration’s claim that she was attempting to kill or seriously injure Ross. These contradictions are buried deeper in NBC’s coverage and often framed as part of an ongoing “investigation” instead of front-and-center counterpoints to the administration’s claims.

In parallel to narrative framing through video and voice order, NBC’s choice to highlight political defenders of Ross — especially Republicans and Trump allies — also leans into the administration’s defensive posture. When reports foreground official pronouncements and legal defenses from the White House and ICE with minimal immediate pushback, audiences are left with the sense that the government’s side is the reasonable one. This is especially significant because other local officials — including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and state prosecutors — have sharply contested federal claims and highlighted withheld evidence, yet their views often appear later or with less prominence than federal statements.

Finally, the very act of giving extensive coverage to federal material and administration sources while deferring detailed scrutiny to later paragraphs functions as narrative alignment. In media studies, ordering and emphasis matter tremendously; placing official explanations up front — and framing them with authority — naturally privileges them in readers’ minds. NBC’s pattern in this case does exactly that, making it easier for audiences to accept that Ross’s actions were justified and that the legal system should defer to federal judgment rather than pursue robust independent scrutiny.

Ultimately, this isn’t just about reporting facts — it’s about which facts are elevated, which sources are privileged, and how conflicting evidence is contextualized. NBC’s editorial choices here reflect and echo the Trump administration’s defensive narrative, smoothing the path for Ross to avoid accountability even as controversy, protests, and legal questions continue to mount.

APA Citations

NBC News. (2026, January 8–9). Video contradicts Trump’s claim about ICE shooting. NBC.

NBC News. (2026, January 9). New cellphone video shows victim interacting with ICE officer moments before fatal shooting. NBC.

The Guardian. (2026, January 9). Minneapolis mayor accuses federal authorities of ‘hiding facts’ in ICE killing.