Trump stands by calling Tim Walz ‘seriously retarded’ over Somali fraud scandal

"I think there’s something wrong with him, absolutely," Trump told reporters.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One. (The White House/YouTube)

(Daily Caller News Foundation) — President Donald Trump called Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “retarded” on Sunday after the welfare fraud scandal involving Somalis in his state came to light.

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Trump wrote in a Nov. 27 Truth Social post that Walz is “seriously retarded” for doing nothing to stop Somalis from reportedly funneling taxpayer funds to the Islamic terror organization, Al-Shabaab. The president doubled down on his remark on Air Force One, stating that there is “something wrong” with Walz.

“I think there’s something wrong with him, absolutely,” Trump told reporters. “You know what? I think there’s something wrong with him. Anybody that would do what he did, anybody that would allow those people into his state and pay billions of dollars out to Somalia. We give billions of dollars to Somalia. It’s not even a country because it doesn’t function like a country. It’s got a name, but it doesn’t function like a country. Yeah, there’s something wrong with Walz.”

Somalis in Minnesota channeled “untold millions” of dollars to the terrorist group responsible for the deaths of at least 11 Americans in several attacks in East Africa, City Journal reported. A member of the group was found guilty in November 2024 of plotting a 9/11-style plane attack in the U.S.

Trump announced on Friday that he is terminating the federal government’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Somalis living in Minnesota. In his announcement, he stated that Walz has turned his state into a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!” Trump said.

Minnesota state employees also accused Walz of bearing full responsibility for the “cascade of systemic failures” that led to the scandal.

Minnesota had an estimated population of 79,000 Somalians, the largest of any state in the U.S., according to 2019-2023 statistics provided by Minnesota Compass.

This article was originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

 

Nicole Silverio | Daily Caller News Foundation