Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's daughter has conceded that there's "enough truth" behind the alleged massive fraud scandal that has rocked the state — while also blaming President Donald Trump and Republicans for turning the issue into a political weapon as her father exits the 2026 governor's race.
Hope Walz, 25, made the remarks on Monday's episode of the podcast "One Hour Detours," appearing just hours after her father announced he was dropping plans to seek a third term.
"I think there was enough truth to the fraud claim," Hope Walz said during the interview.
Even so, she complained that Trump and his supporters had "twisted" and "amplified" the scandal involving Minnesota's expansive social welfare programs.
Though figures vary widely, the fraud has been estimated to total at least $1 billion, with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson saying late last year that it could total $9 billion or more.
The scheme, according to reports, involved individuals within Minnesota's Somali population setting up bogus nonprofits to siphon state funding meant for services such as hunger relief and taxpayer-funded child care.
Hope Walz said her father was viewed by Republicans as an easy political target because of his national profile.
"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 [Republicans] to pick up on," she said on the podcast.
She then insisted that criticism of Tim Walz was driven by Trump's personal dislike of him.
"I think it's because he's everything Trump will never be," she said.
Hope Walz said the governor began reconsidering his reelection plans "with things rapidly changing within the last month" and made the final call during the holiday season.
"I don't want to speak for him, but I think when things started getting really intense for me like on my social media ... I think that's when he was really like, 'OK, like, I need to evaluate what's best for the state and then I need to evaluate what's best for my family,'" she said.
"And then, I think it was just kind of a natural conclusion," she added.
Hope Walz's podcast appearance comes after she claimed in a now-deleted TikTok video that critics were targeting her younger brother, Gus Walz, with insults in the wake of Trump's attacks on her father.
In that video, she said the backlash had escalated since the president's remarks, warning that attacks on her brother would not be tolerated.
Trump, in a Thanksgiving message, ripped Tim Walz as "seriously retarded" when accusing him of allowing tens of thousands of Somali immigrants to take over what he called a "once great state."
Tim Walz has faced mounting scrutiny in recent weeks after conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley released a viral video showing allegedly empty taxpayer-funded day care centers.
More than 90 people have been charged in connection with the sprawling fraud investigation.
Tim Walz had been widely viewed as the front-runner in the race before announcing Monday that he would not seek another term.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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