Melania Trump told her husband to course correct in Minneapolis because she was furious Alex Pretti's shooting put the release of the documentary about her life in the shade, according to a biographer of Donald Trump.
The first lady intervened in her husband's immigration enforcement operations because she thought uproar over last weekend's ICE shooting took focus off her premiere, writer Michael Wolff told the Daily Beast.
"This was supposed to be the Melania week," he said.
The 37-year-old ICU nurse Pretti was shot as he defended a woman from ICE agents on Saturday, video and multiple reports show.
Wolff characterized Trump as responsive to spousal pressure. He said: "Donald Trump is not moved by normal political considerations, but he is moved by a p---ed-off wife. What he does not want is a p---ed-off and uncontrolled Melania."
And, according to Wolff, Melania was "truly p---ed-off" as she considered the premiere of the $75 million film, scheduled for the Kennedy Center, was eclipsed.
"You cannot alienate the first lady to the extent that she makes it an issue with the president. Almost everyone within the White House acknowledges that this is a tripwire."
By the time Trump attended Melania's premiere event Saturday evening, he had begun to "wobble" on his deportation strategy. Wolff noted: "The shooting of Alex Pretti is Saturday morning. Saturday evening is the screening of Melania, the movie. So during this period, the president, Donald Trump, begins to shift in his view of this."
On Monday, Trump removed Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino from Minneapolis, replacing him with Border Czar Tom Homan, who opposes Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Noem, who incorrectly characterized Pretti as a "domestic terrorist," met with the president for two hours Monday evening and is reportedly in precarious standing. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, criticized for calling Pretti an "assassin," was excluded from the meeting.
Melania's documentary is underperforming commercially. The film, following the first lady during the 20 days preceding Trump's second inauguration, opened in approximately 1,500 to 2,000 theaters. Social media users have highlighted numerous unsold theater seats, with examples of sparse attendance at screenings in New York and Los Angeles. The National Research Group projects the film, for which Jeff Bezos' Amazon MGM Studios invested $75 million, will generate only $5 million during its opening weekend.
Wolff is currently defending against legal threats from Melania after she threatened to sue him for $1 billion, with Wolff invoking New York state protections for reporters and free speech.