Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s daughter, Hope Walz, has voiced her belief that her father has been unfairly targeted by conservatives in light of the Somali fraud scandal. She argues that the criticism stems from the fact that “he’s everything Trump will never be.”

Hope shared her insights during an appearance on John O’Sullivan’s One Hour Detours podcast. This discussion took place just hours after Governor Walz made the surprising announcement that he would not pursue re-election. According to Hope, this decision partly aims to alleviate the increased scrutiny the state faces due to welfare-related scams, which include fraudulent activities in daycares and misuse of COVID-era loans.

Thus far, the focus of indictments in these scams has largely been on individuals from the Somali community. Hope suggested that her father’s withdrawal from the political race could diminish the fervor of these attacks. “I think he believes if he’s not in the race, there’s nothing, they have nothing else,” she remarked.

The majority of the defendants indicted so far come from the Somali community.

‘I think he believes if he’s not in the race, there’s nothing, they have nothing else,’ Hope claimed.

She then argued that her father has taken the brunt of the blame ‘because he has that national profile [and] Trump just hates him for some reason,’ though she said, ‘I think it’s because he’s everything Trump will never be.’

‘I think he was popular during the campaign last fall and he’s still in office and he’s running again, and so it’s just kind of an easy thing for them to pick up on,’ Hope said of the widening scandal.

‘And I think there’s enough truth to the fraud claims… that they were able to twist and amplify it and what not because it is being dealt with,’ she argued.

‘They were just able to frame it in a way that benefitted them.’

Hope Walz appeared on John O’Sullivan’s One Hour Detours podcast on Monday afternoon, just hours after her father shockingly announced he would not be seeking re-election

She argued that her father has taken the brunt of the blame ‘because he has that national profile [and] Trump just hates him for some reason,’ though she said, ‘I think it’s because he’s everything Trump will never be.’ Hope is pictured with her father, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 2024

The scandal erupted when independent journalist Nick Shirley conducted a series of visits to Minnesota daycares that serve the Somali community, attempting to interview the operators, and published his findings on X.

He said that one daycare in Hennepin County appeared to be closed when he visited, even though he claims it had received about $4 million in state childcare subsidies — a charge the center disputes and which has not been independently verified.

Still, the shocking film sparked an immediate federal response including by FBI Director Kash Patel and Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, who then announced investigations into the loans.

Prosecutors now say at least 57 people connected with the Feeding Our Future program billed the federal government $250 million, claiming to buy meals for children during the COVID pandemic.

Instead, the defendants allegedly used the stolen money to buy Lamborghinis, Porsche SUVs, beachfront property in Kenya and private villas in the Maldives. The vast majority of those convicted in the case are Somali.

Investigators also found that around $9 billion in federal Medicaid funds supporting 14 Minnesota programs since 2018 may have been stolen, US Attorney Joe Thompson announced on December 18.

Eighty-two of the 92 defendants in the child nutrition, housing services and autism program scams are Somali, prosecutors say.

It was later revealed that Walz had connections with at least some of the refugees charged in the fraudulent scheme. 

Walz has been embroiled in scandal ever since independent journalist Nick Shirley exposed how daycares serving the Somali community were receiving loans but did not appear to be operational

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was pictured with Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, one of the Somali refugees charged in the massive scheme

He was previously photographed with Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, who has now been taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

Ibrahim had previously been convicted in Canada of asylum and welfare fraud, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

White House officials then declared that Somali refugees in Minnesota had committed the ‘biggest theft of taxpayer dollars in US history’ and that local Democratic officials were ‘fully complicit.’ 

US Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller also said authorities ‘believe the state government is fully complicit in this scheme, and we believe that what we uncover is going to shock the American people.’

‘We believe that we’ve only scratched the very top of the surface of how deep this goes,’ Miller told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

Meanwhile, President Trump called Minnesota a ‘hub of fraudulent laundering activity’ as he ended the Temporary Protected Status for Somali refugees. 

His Department of Homeland Security as now kicked off a deployment of about 2,000 federal agents into Minneapolis to crack down on fraud, despite Walz’s claims that the state government was going after those who committed the fraud.

‘This is on my watch. I am accountable for this. And more importantly, I am the one that will fix it,’ he previously said.

Hope said on Monday that her father, the one-time vice presidential candidate, made the decision to not seek re-election, in part, to ‘kind of get that target off of Minnesota’

Looking back at all the backlash, Hope hit out at those on the right who ‘will say and do whatever they need to do to demonize communities.’

She also lashed out at Shirley for his damning video, claiming his fans are ‘trying to make this man into Charlie Kirk or something.’

‘And I think, you know, right-wing media ecosystems and people just really like that content and media, and they’re not going to believe anybody except the least qualified people it seems,’ Hope said, comparing the situation to those who refuse to vaccinate their children.

‘And so he fit the bill there, I think.’

She then added that journalists ‘can’t just go and do this to people and communities,’ defending the Somali population in Minnesota. 

Her father made similar inflammatory remarks as he announced that he was stepping out of the race for a third term in office.

In his speech, Walz said he wanted to focus on ‘defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity.’

He then also attacked Trump and Shirley. 

‘We’ve got conspiracy theorist right-wing YouTubers breaking into daycare centers and demanding access to our children,’ Walz said.

‘We’ve got the President of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongly confiscating childcare funding that Minnesotans rely on. It is disgusting. And it is dangerous.’

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after he announced that he would not seek reelection, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul

President Donald Trump celebrated the news that Walz would not seek another term

Trump, though, seemed to celebrate the news, claiming on his Truth Social platform that Walz was ‘caught REDHANDED along with Ilhan Omar and others of his Somali friends, stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars.’

‘I feel certain the facts will come out and they will reveal a seriously unscrupulous and rich group of “SLIMEBALLS,”‘ the president continued.

‘Governor Walz has destroyed the State of Minnesota, but others, like Governor Gavin Newscum, JB Pritzker and Kathy Hochul, have done, in my opinion, an even more dishonest and incompetent job,’ he said, referring to the governors of California, Illinois and New York, respectively.

‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!’  

Walz is now expected to appear on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Wednesday for a House Oversight hearing on the ‘Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota.’

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, told Fox News’ Sunday Briefing that he thinks ‘it’s very likely [Walz will appear].’

‘We’ve asked not only Gov. Walz, but also Attorney General Ellison, both of whom were in Congress, who I served with in Congress, so they know the rules of Congress. They know how serious this is. 

‘This has gotten the attention of the national public… so they will have to show up and defend themselves,’ he added.