Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been engulfed by a massive fraud scandal involving members of the state’s sizable Somali community bilking taxpayers out of $1 billion in money from a COVID-era program to help feed hungry children.
The scandal is so big that not even the New York Times can ignore it, and the paper has now turned on the state’s top Democrat whose plans to secure a third term could be in serious jeopardy as the governor is frantically trying to contain the damage to his political future.
On Saturday, “The Gray Lady” threw the former vice presidential candidate under the bus, reporting that the “fraud scandal that rattled Minnesota was staggering in its scale and brazenness” and pointing out that it took place on Walz’s watch.
How bad must the corruption on Tim Walz’s watch be that even the New York Times, always last to get the message, are finally reporting it? pic.twitter.com/QjHXYrZrNa
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 30, 2025
According to the paper, “Outrage has swelled among Minnesotans, and fraud has turned into a potent political issue in a competitive campaign season. Gov. Tim Walz and fellow Democrats are being asked to explain how so much money was stolen on their watch, providing Republicans, who hope to take back the governor’s office in 2026, with a powerful line of attack.”
President Donald J. Trump branded Walz’s state “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” in a post to Truth Social and in remarks last week after an Afghan refugee shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., and slammed the “hundreds of thousands of Somalians are ripping off our country and ripping apart that once great state.”
The president also described “Tampon Tim” in the less-than-flattering terms of being “seriously retarded” in a piping hot Thanksgiving Day post on illegal immigration.
Trump didn’t spare Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), an ingrate “always wrapped in her swaddling hijab who probably came into the U.S.A. illegally in that you are not allowed to marry your brother, does nothing but hatefully complain about our Country, its Constitution, and how ‘badly’ she is treated, when her place of origin is a decadent, backward, and crime ridden nation, which is essentially not even a country for lack of Government, Military, Police, schools, etc…”
Walz is making the rounds on friendly media to engage in damage control and appeared on Sunday’s edition of “Meet the Press,” where he was asked by host Kristen Welker about Trump’s use of the forbidden R-word as a descriptor of his mental prowess.
JUST IN: Tim Walz, called a retard by President Trump, does a HORRIBLE job pretending it doesn’t bother him
“Look, Donald Trump insulting me is a badge of honor. ”
“Using that term is just so DAMAGING. It’s HURTFUL.”
Cry more, Tampon Tim! YOU SHOULD RESIGN for allowing… pic.twitter.com/SyGGhKH9Tk
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 30, 2025
“Look, Donald Trump insulting me is a badge of honor for me, but I think we all know, both as an educator for a couple of decades and as a parent, using that term is just so damaging. It’s hurtful,” he said, referring to Trump’s use of the r-word. “We have fought three decades to get this out of our schools; kids know better than to use it,” the governor said.
Asked by a reporter about his slam of the “seriously retarded” Democrat on board Air Force One on Sunday, Trump didn’t back down.
“Do you stand by that claim of calling Tim Walz retarded?”@POTUS: “Yeah, there’s something wrong with Walz.” https://t.co/pA9dcj0fNw pic.twitter.com/DPHhv3mRpb
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025
Walz downplayed the scandal and the prevalence of scammers within the state’s Somali community as a whole.
“So we are, we’ll take it on and put folks in jail. I don’t care what your nationality is, I don’t care who your religion is, your color, if you’re committing crimes. These were programs meant to serve students with autism, housing, making sure people had enough to eat. There’s a reason Minnesota ranks as the top lowest childhood poverty, best place for children to live. That is disconnected with demonizing an entire group of people who came here fleeing civil war and created a vibrant community that makes Minnesota and this country better,” he told Welker.
“Tim Walz is 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota. We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud, but no, we got the opposite response,” the Minnesota Department of Human Services Employees said in a statement posted to X over the weekend, sharing a post highlighting the New York Times story.
Tim Walz is 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota. We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud but no, we got the opposite response. Tim Walz systematically retaliated against whistleblowers using monitoring, threats, repression,… https://t.co/cEtbnuKmgn
— Minnesota Department of Human Service Employees (@Minnesota_DHS) November 30, 2025
“Tim Walz systematically retaliated against whistleblowers using monitoring, threats, repression, and did his best to discredit fraud reports. Instead of partnership, we got the full weight of retaliation,” the Minnesota DHS account claimed.
Make no mistake, the Somali fraud problem is a big one for Walz, and even the New York Times has to admit it.
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