Governor Walz Won't Seek Reelection Amid Fraud Scandal (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: I came to the conclusion that I can't give a political campaign my all. Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest 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 want to prey on our differences.

[00:00:18] Speaker 2: A bit of a Minnesota political bombshell with Governor Tim Walz saying that he will not be seeking re-election to a third term. Of course, he was the Democratic vice presidential nominee back in 2024, picked with Kamala Harris, and he delivered many criticisms of President Trump. But in recent weeks, the Trump administration and right-wing allies of the president have been going hard after Governor Walz and others in Minnesota for this deepening welfare fraud scandal that really has been going on for many years but only recently has been drawing national attention. And Walz said that's one of the reasons that he's not running.

[00:00:53] Speaker 1: A single taxpayer dollar wasted on fraud should be intolerable. The buck does stop with me. My administration has been taking fast, decisive action to solve this crisis. We'll win the fight against the fraudsters. And in his news conference in St. Paul, Walz took direct aim at President Trump. We've got the president of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongfully confiscating funds that Minnesotans rely on. It's disgusting and it's dangerous.

[00:01:23] Speaker 2: Now the Department of Justice and the FBI have said that they're going to deepen their look into this Minnesota fraud scandal. Now this is the largest COVID-era fraud scandal of any place in the country. Now Governor Walz is not accused of any wrongdoing, but it happened under his watch. It's one of the reasons that even some Democrats were worried about his bid for re-election. We are told that Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is seriously considering a run for governor. She will be making her decision soon.