MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said this week that his home has been subjected to repeated “drive-by” verbal harassment, with individuals shouting the R-word slur at him from passing cars — incidents he says surged immediately after President Donald Trump used the same slur in a Thanksgiving social media post.

Walz, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said the escalation is unmistakable:

“Ever since Donald Trump used that word about me, people have been driving by my house shouting it. Not one Republican has condemned it. It’s shameful.”

Trump Doubles Down

Trump, asked last week whether he regretted using the slur, declined to walk it back. Instead, the president said:

“I think there is something wrong with him.”

Walz, who was the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee alongside Kamala Harris, initially clapped back with a sharp one-liner on social media. But in his latest comments, his tone shifted to concern.

Walz Warns: “Rhetoric Can Turn Into Violence”

Walz said the problem is not simply name-calling — it is the wider climate Trump has created:

“Alarm bells should be going off. We’ve already seen political figures in Minnesota targeted by a gunman. Rhetoric like this can turn violent. It already has.”

His remark references the September 2025 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah — a case Walz and other Minnesota leaders frequently invoke when warning about political extremism spreading from online to real life.

Walz emphasized that elected officials must “cool the temperature,” accusing Republicans of enabling harassment by refusing to condemn Trump’s rhetoric.

Silence From GOP Lawmakers

Walz noted that not a single Republican legislator in Minnesota or Congress has publicly criticized Trump’s use of the slur. Disability-rights advocates also condemned the president’s language, which watchdog groups say contributes to increasing harassment of people with disabilities.

Background: Trump’s Thanksgiving Post

In Trump’s now-infamous Thanksgiving morning post on Truth Social, he referred to Walz using a word widely recognized as a slur and criticized him over immigration policy — specifically Minnesota’s handling of Somali-American communities.

Walz responded online:

“Kids know better than to use that word.”

The exchange immediately sparked national coverage, with disability groups calling Trump’s remark “deeply stigmatizing.”

The Governor’s Home Under Scrutiny

This is not the first time Walz’s residence has been a target for political anger. During COVID-19 lockdown disputes in 2020, protesters demonstrated outside the governor’s house — but according to Walz, nothing has matched the current hostility.

He says the recent harassment is clearly tied to Trump’s words:

“When the president uses a slur on a national stage, people take that as permission.”