Trump abandons attack mode as Minneapolis shooting backlash

The Trump administration has quickly abandoned its familiar "deny and attack" playbook after initially using it when federal agents shot dead Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.

Within 24 hours, as various videos of the shooting circulated online, it became clear that the White House was out of step with public opinion and what Americans could see with their own eyes.

Since then, the administration – and the president himself - have changed tack, blaming Democrats for what happened and focusing less on the actions of the American nurse who was killed.