The shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, was recorded on video. One photo, which may become one of the most prominent photos of a public event, showed Pretti being shot in the back as he leaned over with one hand holding his cell phone and the other on the ground. The White House was caught having lied about his death. Today (January 26) the Trump administration is racing to reverse the narration that it supports highly visible and dangerous sweeps by federal law enforcement against anyone who might plausibly be an unauthorized resident.

A Pretti-like event was predictable from the outset of this Administration, but perhaps not as shocking and galvanizing as this one.

Events which impaired presidencies

     The 2021 Afghanistan Withdrawal and Joe Biden’s Presidency

In August 2021, the chaotic U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan made a lasting impact on the public perception of the competency of the Biden administration. It raised doubts about his foreign policy judgment and crisis management. This provided fuel for Republican attacks.

     Hurricane Katrina and George W. Bush’s Presidency

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast including New Orleans on August 29, 2005, devastating New Orleans and surrounding areas. The federal response by FEMA under the Bush administration—was widely seen as slow, disorganized, and inadequate. It created perceptions of cronyism (“Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job”), insensitivity, and federal neglect.

     Iran Hostage Crisis (1979-1981) under Jimmy Carter

The prolonged captivity of 52 Americans and a failed rescue attempt, Operation Eagle Claw, symbolized weakness and incompetence. It contributed to his 1980 landslide defeat by Ronald Reagan and a legacy image as one of the weakest modern presidencies.

Events which drove popular movements

The civil rights movement  (a sample of two)

    The bus arrest in Montgomery, Alabama

Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery bus. Parks’ arrest became the catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted 381 days and helped launch the modern civil rights movement.

    The Birmingham Children’s Crusade

On May 2, 1963, more than one thousand students marched from the 16th Street Baptist Church to downtown Birmingham, Alabama, and hundreds were arrested. The following day, May 3, Commissioner Bull Connor ordered police to use high-pressure water hoses and police attack dogs against the children and bystanders.  The fire hoses were so powerful they ripped bark off trees and clothes off people, thrusting children against buildings and cars. These images helped galvanize support for federal civil rights legislation, contributing to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Vietnam and anti-war sentiment

After the Tet Offensive in early 1968, Walter Cronkite visited Vietnam and concluded his February 27, 1968 broadcast by saying the war was “mired in stalemate.” President Johnson reportedly said, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” This marked a turning point in elite and public opinion.

Life Magazine’s June 27, 1969 issue published photographs of all 242 Americans killed in one week in Vietnam. The visual impact of seeing so many young faces made the war’s human cost undeniable and contributed to growing anti-war sentiment.

On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guard troops fired on unarmed student protesters at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine, amid anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. An iconic photo of a young woman kneeling over a victim’s body circulated widely, intensifying nationwide campus strikes involving over 4 million students and eroding support for the Nixon administration’s war policies. (A friend of mine stood within a hundred feet of the incident.)

Black Lives Matter

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for over nine minutes during an arrest, as captured in a bystander video that went viral. This incident ignited the largest wave of protests in U.S. history, with millions participating in Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country and globally, demanding reforms to address systemic racism and police brutality. Public opinion shifted markedly: polls showed a surge in support for the BLM movement from about 43% in 2017 to over 60% in 2020.

Other

Challenger explosion (1986) – Live television coverage of the shuttle disaster profoundly affected public confidence in NASA.

Rodney King beating video (1991) – The first widely-seen amateur video of police brutality, though the officers’ acquittal then sparked the LA riots.

Abu Ghraib photos (2004) – Images of prisoner abuse undermined support for the Iraq War and damaged America’s moral standing.