Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz held a brief press conference on January 5, 2026, reiterating his decision to drop his 2026 re-election bid amid massive welfare fraud allegations involving over 90 charged individuals, mostly Somalis, with potential losses up to $9 billion.
Desperate to shift the blame, he criticized political opponents for exploiting the crisis, accused Trump allies of wanting a “colder and meaner” state, and abruptly left after seven minutes without taking questions, surprising reporters. His staff promised to answer questions soon.
Starting off the bizarre interaction, Gov. Tim Walz declared, “Like many Minnesotans, I have to tell you I was glad to turn the page on 2025. It was an extraordinarily difficult year for our state, and it ended on a particularly sour note.”
Shifting blame to the president, he added, “I don’t want to mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies in Washington and in St. Paul and online want to make our state a colder and meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors.”
But while Walz’s speech was ridiculous, what made the press conference entertaining is that Walz ran away from the reporters who had gathered for it: despite having reportedly told the press corps that he would take their questions, presumably about the scandal and his resignation, he just left the press conference without taking a single question from the gathered reporters.
Instead, after wrapping up his relatively short comments, the governor slammed his binder shut, spun on his heel, and held his head downcast as he ambled away from the podium with somewhat surprising speed. As he did so, the gathered reporters threw questions at him, none of which he responded or reacted to in the slightest. Commenting on the matter on X, one poster said, “Tim Walz just left his press conference after announcing he is not running for reelection without taking questions after they told the press he would take questions. This guy was in so far above his head. Angry little man.”
Watch the incident here:
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Reacting to the scandal, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-KY) blasted Walz. “Massive fraud of taxpayer dollars occurred on Tim Walz’s watch. He’s either complicit in this theft or grossly incompetent in preventing it,” he noted
Continuing his denunciation, the Republican added, “Though Tim Walz is not running for governor again, he cannot run from accountability. The House Oversight Committee demands that he appear for a public hearing on February 10 to expose this fraud and begin the process of accountability. The American people deserve answers, and they deserve them now.”
In her own reaction, State House Speaker Lisa Demuth took to X, formerly Twitter, to quip, “If Democrats think they can sweep Minnesota’s fraud scandal away by swapping out Tim Walz, they are wrong.” Echoing these comments, RGA Communications Director Courtney Alexander gave a scathing reaction.
“After presiding over one of the biggest fraud scandals in history it’s no wonder that Tim Walz is being forced to drop his re-election bid,” she said, “This scandal isn’t just reflective of Minnesota Democrats: it is the banner of the Democrat Party nationally.”
However, Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) took a different view of the situation. Not only did he praise the embattled Democrat as “a true leader,” but said he “remains very confident Minnesotans will elect another strong Democratic governor this November.”
CAIR, an infamous left-wing NGO, reacted, “We are deeply concerned for the safety and welfare of children attending day care centers who are now facing heightened risks due to unauthorized individuals attempting to access facilities, as well as the very real danger that predators, including those seeking to exploit chaos and fear, may take advantage of this moment.”
Gov. Tony Evers, the Democratic governor of Wisconsin, alleged that Walz was a “dedicated public servant who’s spent his career putting others before himself. Tim has always been a good friend and a good neighbor to us across the river, and I’m incredibly grateful we’ve had the opportunity to serve as governors of our states together.”
Featured image from embedded video