Category: Politics
Trump mocks Tim Walz for dropping re-election campaign after fraud allegations — then accuses other Democrats
President Donald Trump responded with a scathing statement to a report that the 2024 failed Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was considering dropping out of his re-election campaign. Walz later confirmed he was dropping out.
Walz has been dogged by accusations of obstruction in the investigation into government relief and welfare fraud in the Somali community in Minnesota. He has denied any involvement and claimed that his administration has tried to investigate the schemes.
‘I feel certain the facts will come out, and they will reveal a seriously unscrupulous, and rich, group of ‘SLIMEBALLS.’ … NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!’
The president mocked Walz and named other Democrats he believes are also guilty of crimes, including Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
“Minnesota’s Corrupt Governor will possibly leave office before his Term is up but, in any event, will not be running again because he was caught, REDHANDED, along with Ilhan Omar, and others of his Somali friends, stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“I feel certain the facts will come out, and they will reveal a seriously unscrupulous, and rich, group of ‘SLIMEBALLS.’ Governor Walz has destroyed the State of Minnesota,” he added.
He went on to accuse California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, all Democrats, of more dishonesty and incompetency.
“NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!” he added.
Walz said Monday that he would be unable to put all his effort into a re-election campaign that would have meant a third term, if he had won.
RELATED: Tim Walz tries to dunk on Trump and gets pantsed on social media
“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” he wrote. “So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”
One poll found that Walz had a disapproval rating of 48%, and over 69% of respondents said that he needed to do more to stop fraud in Minnesota.
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DHS accuses Hilton Hotels of ‘siding with murderers and rapists’ over ICE — and the hotel chain responds
The Department of Homeland Security has publicly called out Hilton Hotels over what DHS says was an organized act of obstruction against immigration enforcement.
The agency posted screenshots showing the well-known hotel chain had “maliciously” canceled reservations for DHS officials at a Minneapolis-area location.
‘Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?’
“NO ROOM AT THE INN!” reads a statement from DHS on social media.
“[Hilton Hotels] has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement. When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations. This is UNACCEPTABLE,” the agency continued.
“Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?” the statement concluded.
One of the screenshots of the email responses included a statement from the hotel specifically citing the presence of ICE agents as the reason for the cancellation.
“We have noticed an influx of gov reservations made today that have been made for DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property. If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation,” the email read, according to the screenshot.
In an email statement to Blaze News, a spokesperson for the hotel chain responded to the accusations.
“Hilton Hotels serve as welcoming places for all,” the statement reads.
“This hotel is independently owned and operated, and the actions referenced are not reflective of Hilton values,” the spokesperson added. “We are investigating this matter with this individual hotel and can confirm that Hilton works with governments, law enforcement, and community leaders around the world to ensure our properties are open and inviting to everyone.”
RELATED: Postal worker allegedly tried to help detainee escape from ICE — and was on duty at the time
Some on social media responded by saying they would cancel their Hilton reservations and avoid the chain.
In a second statement emailed to Blaze News, a spokesperson for Hilton said the independently owned hotel apologized for the incident.
“We have been in direct contact with the hotel, and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies,” said the spokesperson. “They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter. Hilton’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”
Everpeak Hospitality, the owners of the Hampton Inn hotel, also posted a statement.
“Everpeak Hospitality has moved swiftly to address this matter as it was inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all,” the statement reads.
“We are in touch with the impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated,” the statement continued. “We do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies and apologize to those impacted. We are committed to welcoming all guests and operating in accordance with brand standards, applicable laws, and our role as a professional hospitality provider.”
Editor’s note: This article has been edited after publication to include a statement from Everpeak Hospitality as well as a second statement from Hilton Hotels.
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Trump amplifies call for pausing ‘all legal immigration of any kind’
While almost all Republicans can agree that the United States needs to halt illegal immigration, more public figures have been raising the alarm about legal immigration through the “broken” visa system as well.
Early Monday morning, President Trump reposted on Truth Social a clip of an interview with Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) talking about immigration reform.
‘We need to restructure our legal immigration system to only allow people who love America, share American values, want to add value and assimilate to America, and don’t want any free stuff.’
The interviewer asked Fine what legal changes need to be made in Congress.
Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“I think immediately we need to stop it all — all legal immigration of any kind, because clearly it’s out of control. People coming here on tourist visas protesting the country; people claiming that they’re refugees but then scamming the system and going on vacation to the countries they supposedly fled from; people coming and taking American jobs,” Fine said.
He continued, “We need to restructure our legal immigration system to only allow people who love America, share American values, want to add value and assimilate to America, and don’t want any free stuff.”
Fine then referred to Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy’s Pausing All Admissions Until Security Ensured Act, which was introduced in mid-November.
The bill seeks to freeze all legal immigration until certain conditions are met, effectively forcing an open-ended moratorium on legal immigration.
When the bill was introduced, Roy said, “The problem isn’t just illegal immigration; it’s also legal immigration. While the Biden administration opened our borders and allowed millions to flood into our country, they also rubber-stamped millions more arriving through convoluted legal schemes, completely overwhelming the system.”
A White House spokesperson declined to give further comment when contacted by Blaze News.
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‘We are not doing this any more’: Rubio to strip billions in foreign aid from ‘NGO industrial complex’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. is moving away from funneling foreign aid funds through non-governmental organizations after criticism of fraud and incompetence.
Rubio explained that the U.S. government has used NGOs to try to accomplish foreign policy goals but that many have become far too costly and inefficient. The first benefactor of the new policy is the government of Kenya, which will receive foreign aid funds directly instead.
‘That is the model that we are breaking. We are not doing this any more. We are not going to spend billions of dollars funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya either have no role to play …’
“The United States has spent billions of dollars over the years in helping with health strategies all across the world,” explained Rubio in a speech last month.
“What we learned over time, especially after coming here, is that oftentimes — and I am oversimplifying it, but this is an accurate description — what would happen is we would go to a country and say, ‘We’re going to help you with your health care needs.’ Then we would drive over to Northern Virginia somewhere, find an NGO, one of these organizations, give them all the money, tell them: ‘Go to this country and do their health care program for them,'” he added.
“That NGO would then take some percentage of that money for their overhead and administrative costs, and by the time it got down to it … only a percentage of the overall money ever actually reached the patients and the people on the ground that we were trying to help because of these costs,” Rubio said.
“This makes no sense,” he said.
The compact reached with Kenya includes the Kenyan government’s agreement to increase spending on health care by $850 million over the next five years.
“So why are we hiring American and international NGOs to go into other countries and run health care systems that are parallel and sometimes in conflict with the health care systems of the host country?” Rubio continued.
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“If we’re trying to help countries, help the country. Don’t help the NGO to go in and find a new line of business,” he added. “So that is the model that we are breaking. We are not doing this any more. We are not going to spend billions of dollars funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya either have no role to play or have very little influence over how health care money is being spent.”
He concluded, “Bottom line is if you want to help a country, work with that country.”
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Lindsey Graham dons ‘Make Iran Great Again’ hat amid raging protests against Khamenei regime
Protests have rocked Iran since late December, and some American leaders, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have voiced support for the cause.
On an appearance on Fox News on Sunday night, Graham donned a black baseball cap that read: “Make Iran Great Again.”
‘I pray and hope that 2026 will be the year that we make Iran great again.’
As he put on the hat, Graham said, “I pray and hope that 2026 will be the year that we make Iran great again.”
Last Friday, President Trump warned Iranian leaders that there will be hell to pay if any protesters are killed: “If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
RELATED: Trump says if Iran ‘kills peaceful protesters,’ the US ‘will come to their rescue’
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Protests have reportedly broken out in more than 220 locations in 26 of the 31 provinces in Iran. According to the Associated Press, more than 20 people have been killed, and nearly 1,000 people have been arrested.
The protests began springing up in December 2025, supposedly in response to mounting economic pressures, including the collapse of the Iranian currency, a new policy that raised the price of gas, and inflation rates as high as 40%.
On Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly warned that “rioters must be put in their place,” but the protests have shown little sign of slowing down in the first week of 2026.
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‘Very sick too’: Trump sets sights on more countries after successful Venezuela operation
Over the weekend, the Trump administration successfully captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. In the hours and days following the successful operation, Trump suggested that Venezuela is only the start of his efforts to retake control of the Western Hemisphere.
Talking to the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, President Trump set his sights on two more countries that he says need to be reined in.
‘Sounds good to me.’
“Colombia is very sick too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you,” Trump said to reporters aboard Air Force One.
RELATED: ‘We’re going to run it’: Trump reveals Venezuela’s fate following Maduro’s capture
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Trump suggested that the president of Colombia runs “cocaine mills and cocaine factories,” but they will not be running for much longer.
When asked if there would be an operation in Colombia to cut off the alleged drug trafficking and corruption, Trump told reporters, “Sounds good to me.”
Trump added that Cuban leadership has “only survived because of Venezuela” when asked if similar operations were planned in the country.
Similarly President Trump on Sunday added that “we need Greenland for national security.”
“If you take a look at Greenland … you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” Trump said.
On Monday morning, Trump reiterated the message that the United States needs Greenland for “national security.” Trump lightly mocked Denmark’s handling of the territory, saying, “You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security in Greenland? They added one more dog sled. It’s true!”
The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signaled his disapproval of Trump’s push for Greenland. Starmer told the BBC Monday that “only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark” should “decide the future of Greenland.”
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