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MORNING
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HOT DISH
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MORNING
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HOT DISH
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The Walz-Nazi-GOP Scuffle |
The Minnesota Star Tribune
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Good morning and happy Friday! I'm a special guest to Friday Dish this week and have a lot of ground to cover.
In the middle of news about the federal budget cuts, Minnesota Republicans released an audio clip of Gov. Tim Walz at a recent Minnesota Nurses Association event.
THE WALZ-NAZI DEBATE: My colleague Briana Bierschach writes that in the 23-second clip, Walz is clearly frustrated and said the pundits have been asking, “What’s wrong with the Democratic Party?” “What’s wrong is our country is being stolen by fascists and Nazis and we’re trying to do all we can,” Walz can be heard saying to applause from members of the labor union.
Senate Republicans held a news conference later in the day and called on Walz to apologize, saying he was clearly comparing Republicans to Nazis.
GOP SPIN: “Governor Walz used evocative language comparing modern political opponents to a political party responsible for the murder of millions of people, including 6 million Jews,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson said Thursday. “It’s out of line and it warrants an apology.”
But Walz emphatically defended his comments in a news conference on Thursday, saying he was talking about protesters identifying as Nazis marching in the streets in Ohio earlier this month.
WALZ'S TAKE: “Apologize to them?” he said. “How come they haven’t called that out? We have folks in Lincoln Heights, Ohio … calling themselves Nazis walking in the streets asking to take over that City Council.”
Walz denied that he was talking about Republicans in Washington. “I’m talking about the people who are openly Nazis,” he said. “We have folks marching in the streets.”
Republicans pointed to Walz calling for his 2022 GOP governor opponent Scott Jensen to apologize for comments likening COVID-19 mandates to measures during the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Several Jewish groups at the time asked Jensen to stop making the comparison because it’s insensitive to liken anything to the Holocaust.
"The community itself simply said stop, and a simple apology and moving on would have moved us on to other things," Walz said at the time. "But now it's apparent this is not a slip of the tongue. This is not a random issue.”
"APPLES TO ELEPHANTS": Walz said comparing Jensen’s comments to his own is comparing “apples to elephants.” Jensen did not apologize for his comments in 2022, either, saying instead that Walz should “apologize for eroding our public safety, crushing our kids’ educational outcomes, and suffocating working families with inflation.”
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The Minnesota Star Tribune
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Some new politicos were thrown into the musical chairs mix that Sen. Tina Smith's surprise retirement announcement created.
AN ANGIE CRAIG SUCCESSOR IN WAITING? Several website domains registered under Second Congressional District state Sen. Erin Maye Quade's name, including erinmayequadeforcongress.org, were recently created as Rep. Angie Craig weighs a decision on a possible Senate run.
If Craig enters the Senate race, she will have to give up her hard fought swing congressional seat, which will likely become a top target for Republicans. Craig declined to throw out any names of possible Democratic successors when asked about her seat this week, stressing that she's still running for re-election for now.
A SENATE DOMAIN: Asked about the domains, Maye Quade, pictured above, said: "Nothings changed for now, still working on session and protecting Minnesotans from [President Donald] Trump and [Elon] Musk’s corruption as much as is possible."
Maye Quade was not the only Minnesota politician with a newly minted domain. Colemanforsenate.org was also created for GOP state Sen. Julia Coleman, who is weighing a bid, too.
DOING HER DUE DELIGENCE: "Just buying it before someone else does, just in case," Coleman said.
This week Walz ended a nearly two-week guessing game on a possible run, clearing the way for other Democrats who may have been waiting on him to decide.
Asked about his plans following Walz's announcement, Attorney General Keith Ellison, who hasn't ruled out a run, said Wednesday: "I wouldn't make any moves today," when asked about where he stood post-Walz's announcement.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who's also considering a bid, said Thursday that Walz's plans were never a factor in hers. "We're still having conversations and have not made a decision one way or another, but I'll get there soon," Omar said.
Like Craig, Omar would have to give up her congressional seat if she enters the Senate race.
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SENATE AG HEARING: On Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture committee — which Sen. Amy Klobuchar leads as ranking member — heard testimony from two panels of farmers with firsthand accounts of the state of America's farm economy, my colleague Christopher Vondracek reports.
Two Minnesotans were there, including Lori Stevermer of Easton in south-central Minnesota, who serves as president of the National Pork Producers Council, and Northfield's John Zimmerman, chair of the National Turkey Federation.
MINNESOTANS TAKE PART: Prodded by Klobuchar to comment on next steps in the fight against bird flu, which has driven massive depopulation on poultry farms and led to high prices on eggs in grocery stores, Zimmerman said any increased attention on biosecurity measures "can only go so far. We need to look at new solutions," Zimmerman said.
Namely he was speaking about vaccines. But he added that new delivery modes are needed. "We cannot inject every bird in the country."
WEANER PIGS: Asked about the threat of tariffs by Klobuchar, Stevermer noted that many weaner pigs are driven over the border of Canada into Minnesota and that 25% of America's pork products are exported.
"Any retaliatory tariff would be concerning," Stevermer said. "It would be disruptive."
Earlier in the hearing, Smith, who also sits on the committee, spoke about firings in Minnesota while questioning panel members about the federal staff cuts' impact.
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TRUMP, GOP IMPACT ON MINNESOTA: Medical Assistance recipients and state leaders are sounding the alarm over U.S. House Republicans’ recent budget resolution, my colleagues Jessie Van Berkel and Christopher Snowbeck report. That vote this week was just the start of a complicated process, and details of their budget plan still need to be developed.
MEDICAID: With potential changes on the horizon to the nation’s largest government health insurance program by enrollment, the Minnesota Star Tribune reviewed who the program serves here and what may be coming. Read more.
WELLSTONE BUILDING IN JEOPARDY? The federal government is looking to terminate leases and offload hundreds of buildings it owns across the country, including downtown Minneapolis’ historic Paul D. Wellstone building and other office spaces located in Minnesota, Bierschbach and reporter Jim Buchta report.
The buildings, newly listed as “non-core” assets by the U.S. General Services Administration, are being eyed for sale by the government as part of the Trump administration's sweeping effort to slash federal spending. Read more.
SANCTUARY CITY SUIT: St. Paul and Minneapolis have joined a lawsuit filed by sanctuary cities across the country, objecting to Trump’s executive order tying federal funds to cities’ participation in the administration’s immigration enforcement, my colleague Josie Albertson-Grove reports.
For St. Paul, city officials said the executive order forces the city to choose between $260 million in federal funding expected this year, or upholding the city’s 2004 ordinance that outlawed city officials asking about someone’s immigration status before providing core city services. Read more.
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Walz has no public events scheduled today.
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