A screenshot circulating on X purports to show US President Donald Trump condemning gun ownership following a fatal shooting during protests in Minnesota. The image attributes to Trump the statement, “he had a gun. only criminals carry guns on our streets,” allegedly referring to Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old protester who was shot by US federal agents.
The post has been widely shared as supposed evidence that Trump had publicly turned against gun ownership or the Second Amendment. However, there is no record of such a statement on Trump’s verified Truth Social account. Searches of archiving tools that track deleted or edited posts similarly did not surface any version of the quote, and no major or reputable news outlet reported on a remark of this nature at the time it was allegedly made. Given Trump’s long-standing and well-documented pro-gun positions, a statement framing civilian gun ownership as inherently criminal would almost certainly have triggered immediate political and media attention.
While Trump did comment publicly on the Minnesota incident, his actual response differed substantially from the wording shown in the viral image. He shared an image of a firearm allegedly associated with Pretti and claimed it was loaded, with additional magazines, and “ready to go.” There is no evidence Trump stated that “only criminals carry guns,” nor that he broadly condemned gun ownership in connection with the incident.
Crucially, the viral framing omits key context about Pretti himself. Available reporting indicates that Pretti was legally carrying a firearm under Minnesota’s open-carry laws. The weapon was holstered and there is no evidence that he was brandishing it, threatening others, or using it in a provocative manner at the time he was shot. Open carry, while politically contentious, is lawful in Minnesota, and the mere presence of a holstered firearm does not in itself constitute criminal behaviour. This omission materially alters how the incident is interpreted, particularly when paired with a fabricated quote suggesting criminal intent.
The image’s presentation also raises questions about its authenticity. While it is not possible to conclusively determine whether generative AI tools were used to create the screenshot, several indicators are consistent with digitally fabricated political content: the absence of corroborating records on the originating platform, formatting that closely mimics but does not precisely match Truth Social’s interface, and the strategic use of emotionally charged phrasing attributed to a polarising public figure. Increasingly, such images are produced either through manual image editing or AI-assisted generation, then circulated without any provenance to exploit existing political fault lines.
Overall, the claim that Trump stated “only criminals carry guns on our streets” is false. There is no record of such a post, the quote is inconsistent with his verified statements, and the image strips away legally and factually important context about the individual involved. Rather than reflecting a genuine shift in Trump’s position on gun ownership, the screenshot appears to be a deliberate fabrication designed to provoke outrage and mislead audiences during an already polarised debate.
