What may have sounded to some like one of Tim Walz’s recent townhall monologues was actually a commencement address the two-term Minnesota governor delivered to law school graduates on Saturday morning in Minneapolis.
Walz spent a significant portion of his speech in front of University of Minnesota law students—waiting to receive their diplomas—on political rhetoric targeting President Donald Trump, whom he described as a “tyrant.”
“This is what the crumbling of rule of law looks like in real time,” Walz said, referring to the Trump administration. “And it’s exactly what the founders of this nation feared—a tyrant abusing power to persecute scapegoats and enemies.”
Gov. Tim Walz tells U of M law school grads that President Donald Trump is "a tyrant abusing power to persecute scapegoats and enemies." pic.twitter.com/hiUDoWjGZh
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) May 18, 2025
Walz also made some historical analogies along the way. At one point, he compared federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to secret police working for Hitler during Nazi Germany.
“Some would say, ‘Boy, this is getting way too political for a commencement address,'” Walz kidded. “But I would argue, I wouldn’t be honoring my oath if I didn’t address this head on.”
“I’m gonna start with the flashing red light—Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets,” Walz said. “They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons. No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans and disappeared.”
During a commencement ceremony speech at the U of M, Gov. Tim Walz described federal ICE agents as "Trump's modern-day Gestapo.” pic.twitter.com/D6mFIyH9Pm
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) May 18, 2025
“It’s not hyperbole to say we’re not far from a world where anyone could get that knock at a door,” Walz continued. “And there’s no guarantee that you’d get your day in court or that you would ever make it home alive from whatever corner of the world they stick you in.”
Speech comes on heels of his deal to end public health care for illegals
Walz’s speech came as state lawmakers across the Mississippi River in St. Paul were racing to finish their work in the final days of the legislative session.
Leaders from both caucuses in the House and Senate have been working the weekend to keep alive a tenuous budget deal that Walz announced on Thursday. One of the sticking points is a concession Walz and Democrat leaders made with Republicans to repeal a new law that extended a public health insurance program to illegal immigrant adults, despite the protest of some of the more progressive DFLers in the rank and file.
But away from the 11th-hour Capitol negotiations, Walz leaned into his political material. He compared his recent loss in the 2024 election to that of the law school building’s namesake, former Vice President Walter Mondale—who lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential election.
“The remarkable thing about Fritz Mondale was, win or lose, that guy just kept on serving,” Walz said as he neared his closing remarks.
“Now, if Trump and his folks want to come for Minnesotans, we need to make sure that there’s a firewall that they have to come through before they get to them.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
