Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded to a video showing him not clapping for veterans as they arrived on an Honor Flight to visit memorials in Washington, D.C.
As Alpha News first reported, the video was captured at Reagan National Airport on Sept. 26, just after the honor flight landed. The bystander who recorded the video is from Minnesota and recognized Ellison.
The clapping went on for several minutes and at no time did they see Attorney General Ellison clap, the bystander said.
The bystander told Alpha News that, “For a period of no less than five minutes while several veterans exited the plane to applause, I did not once see Mr. Ellison clap at all. What the hell is with this guy?”
Alpha News previously reached out to Attorney General Ellison’s office for comment, but did not receive a response.
Ellison told WCCO Radio Tuesday that his father and son are veterans and he is very proud of the work he has done to support veterans in the attorney general’s office.
LISTEN: Minnesota AG Keith Ellison responds to viral Alpha News video of him not clapping for veterans arriving on an Honor Flight
"So I might not have been able to see that one (veteran) that they caught me where I was attending to work-related business," Ellison told… pic.twitter.com/LwAh9vvqh4
— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) October 22, 2025
“Let me just say, the idea that I don’t support veterans is ridiculous. It’s untrue. It’s a lie,” Ellison said. “Now look, that day, there were 10 or 11 different veterans that came off. I clapped for like all of them.
“Then I got a call from my office and I answered the phone. And so I might not have been able to see that one that they caught me where I was attending to work-related business,” he added.
“I got great respect and admiration for our veterans,” Ellison continued. “I guarantee you that there’s no veteran who knows me who is unaware of my support for what they do every single day. So this was a tape, somebody catches you in an unguarded moment, and then tries to turn it into something that it isn’t and it’s just unfortunate.
“It’s too bad we have to talk about it because I clapped for every veteran that came out, then I got a call and I had to pick up that call. And so here we are talking about something that really is a non-story. Really, it’s a non-story.”
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
