Former President Donald Trump has once again falsely claimed to have won Minnesota in the 2020 election, saying the state is “out of control” and attacking Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. He suggests that if it weren't for him, Minneapolis “would have burned to the ground” that same year.
President Trump's comments came during two interviews. One of them was posted Thursday by conservative media outlet Alpha News ahead of Friday's visit to the state. In a separate interview with KSTP, Trump falsely claimed he won Minnesota, a state he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020 by about 7 percentage points.
Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin quickly denounced Trump's claim that he had won Minnesota.
“Donald Trump has shown time and time again that he doesn't respect Minnesotans enough to lie to our faces,” Martin said in a statement Thursday. “Minnesota will see through these lies and hold President Trump accountable for the extreme MAGA policies he seeks to impose on our country.”
The former president is scheduled to headline the Minnesota Republican Party's annual fundraising dinner Friday night. The Trump campaign declined an interview request from the Star Tribune.
In an interview with Alpha News, President Trump lambasted Biden as “the worst president in our country's history” and called the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan “the most shameful day in our nation's history.”
President Trump has claimed, without evidence, that many of the immigrants who cross the border illegally come from “prisons, mental hospitals and terrorists.” Additionally, he said, “We're going to need mass deportations. The country can't stand it, the country can't stand it.”
Asked about anti-police sentiment, Trump said: “We have to give them back respect and dignity.” He then shifted his comments specifically toward Minnesota and Minneapolis.
“If I hadn't let things happen the way they did, Minneapolis would have burned down. What they were doing was terrible. Look at what happened during that time, and we… “I won awards for saving certain neighborhoods and saving certain towns because the politicians wouldn't take action,” Trump said.
After the 2020 killing of George Floyd, it was Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, not President Trump, who sent in the National Guard to quell riots. It is also unclear what kind of award President Trump said he received.
“When President Biden comes to town, he offers jobs and bridge funding. When Trump comes to town, he brings the same list of lies and complaints. For the third time in a row, Minnesotans have turned against Donald. “I have no doubt that I will vote for President Trump,” Walz said in a statement Thursday.
Alpha News did not dispute President Trump's statements in a brief interview.
“It's very sad what happened to your state. Your state is out of control and this radical leftist philosophy cannot be allowed to continue,” Trump said.
He described Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer as “a great person and a true leader.” Last fall, President Trump called Emmer a “RINO,” short for “Republican in Name Only,” and shot down the Minnesota congressman's bid to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Asked what he thought about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, President Trump claimed that the Minneapolis congresswoman “hates Jews and hates Israel.” Omar is an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and a defender of the Palestinian people. She has never said she hates Jews, and she has released statements condemning anti-Semitism.
Omar responded to President Trump with sharp words.
“Donald Trump is a hate-trafficker with 91 felonies and a history of sexual assault of women. He is a criminal, a fraud, and a loser. I will continue to work to defeat him while he continues to spread hateful lies about me, “Save Our Democracy,'' Omar said.
During his interview with KSTP, Trump was more restrained. He said he thinks he has a “really good chance” to win in Minnesota this November. He came within 1.5 points of winning in Minnesota in 2016, but suffered an even bigger loss four years later.
Asked whether a trial would damage his standing with voters, Trump, who has called for investigations and prosecutions of his political opponents in the past, said: “Certainly this has never been done before in this country.'' It's a witch hunt.'' ; It's the weaponization of government. ”
