The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!
The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!

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Tim Walz finally takes the blame for Minnesota fraud — then makes one remarkable comparison

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BS BULLETIN:

  • Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he accepts responsibility for not stopping fraud in state programs sooner.
  • Walz acknowledged he “should have done more” as he prepares to leave office in January.
  • But while discussing the scale of the scandal, Walz compared the fraud with President Trump’s White House ballroom project.

Tim Walz is finally accepting some of the blame.

But he isn’t going quietly.

The outgoing Minnesota governor addressed the massive fraud scandals that have dogged his administration during what the Minnesota Star Tribune described as an “exit interview” at its North Star Summit.

Walz acknowledged that his administration failed to stop fraud soon enough.

“Fraud — should have stopped it sooner,” Walz said. “We didn’t stop them. I accept that.”

Walz went further, saying there needs to be accountability and acknowledging that some of that accountability belongs with him.

“Yep, I should have done more,” he said. “I should have been down on those agencies a little more.”

That’s a fairly direct admission. Then came the comparison.

Walz argued that the amount of fraud prosecuted so far — along with what he believes remains undiscovered — is less than the cost of President Trump’s White House ballroom project.

“It puts it into perspective,” Walz said.

He immediately added: “It doesn’t make it right.”

The comparison comes amid continuing disagreement over exactly how large Minnesota’s fraud problem ultimately will prove to be. Federal prosecutors have documented hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud cases to date, while officials have warned the eventual total could reach into the billions.

Walz argued that fraud shouldn’t be the only thing Minnesotans remember about his eight years as governor. He pointed to free school meals, the state’s child tax credit, paid family and medical leave and environmental protections as accomplishments he hopes will endure.

“I get it, that fraud tainted a lot of that,” Walz said. “It doesn’t change the fundamentals underneath it.”

Republicans in Minnesota aren’t buying that version of the farewell tour.

State Sen. Julia Coleman told Fox News that Walz shouldn’t only be remembered for fraud — before rattling off a decidedly less flattering list of things she believes should also define his tenure.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, the Republican nominee for governor, said the fraud crisis will remain central to Walz’s legacy. And Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins was even more direct.

“He was never serious about stopping it and still isn’t,” Robbins told Fox.

Walz, meanwhile, appears certain about at least one thing concerning his political future. Asked about seeking elected office again after leaving the governor’s mansion, he gave perhaps the most unequivocal answer of the entire interview:

“I’d rather eat glass.”

MY QUICK TAKE:

Now there’s an exit interview.

Yes, fraud happened. Yes, I should have stopped it. Yes, I should have ridden the agencies harder.

But have you seen the price of Trump’s ballroom?

That’s certainly one way to put things “into perspective.” And after all that, Walz says he’d rather eat glass than run for office again.

Somewhere in Minnesota, an opposition researcher just sadly closed his laptop.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

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