Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued one of his strongest public rebukes of President Donald Trump to date, blasting the president for using a disability slur in a Thanksgiving Day social-media post and for spreading false, inflammatory claims about the state’s Somali community. Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press on November 30, Walz said Trump’s language was “damaging,” “hateful,” and unworthy of the nation’s highest office—especially at a moment when tensions surrounding immigration are already running high.

The criticism came just days after Trump used the r-word while insulting Walz on Truth Social, then followed it with a barrage of posts portraying Minnesota’s Somali population as dangerous interlopers who were “taking over” the state. Trump’s posts drew national outrage from disability advocates, immigrant-rights leaders, and Democratic officials, who said the rhetoric risked inspiring harassment and violence against Minnesotans.

Walz: “This is about decency. Kids know better.”

Asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker about the president’s use of the slur—a term widely recognized as derogatory toward people with intellectual disabilities—Walz did not mince words.

“This is what Donald Trump has done. He has normalized this type of hateful behavior and this type of language,” Walz said. “At first, I think it’s just because he’s not a good human being. But secondly, it’s to distract from his incompetency.”

The r-word, originally a medical descriptor in the 20th century, is now broadly considered a slur. Disability-rights organizations have campaigned for decades to end its use. Walz—a former teacher—framed Trump’s post not as a matter of “political correctness,” but of basic morality.

“Kids know better not to use that word,” he said. “This isn’t about being ‘woke.’ Many times, it’s just about being decent to people and making them feel included. You can use that language—nobody will arrest you for it. But you shouldn’t. And that’s something Donald Trump fails to realize.”

Trump’s Somali Post Draws Intensifying Backlash

Walz also condemned Trump’s Thanksgiving series of posts which falsely claimed that “hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.” Minnesota is home to approximately 87,000 Somali-Americans—the largest population in the country—but Trump’s claims have no factual basis. The president also used the posts to justify sweeping new immigration restrictions, including ordering DHS to reevaluate all green cards issued to individuals from 19 countries labeled “high risk”—Somalia among them.

On Meet the Press, Walz accused Trump of intentionally “demonizing” Somali-American families for political gain.

“They bring the diversity and the energy to a place like Minnesota,” Walz said. “For him to just randomly decide to do this—it makes no sense. Do your job. Get the criminals out, secure our border, but do it with dignity and respect to the American tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees as a beacon of hope.”

The governor noted that Trump’s language has real-world consequences. Minnesota’s Somali community has experienced spikes in harassment following political attacks in the past, including after Trump told Rep. Ilhan Omar to “go back” to Somalia during the 2019 congressional freshman disputes. Community leaders say this latest wave of rhetoric has once again heightened fear.

Context: A Nation on Edge After D.C. Shooting

Trump’s latest commentary came only days after two National Guard members were shot in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021. The incident, now under investigation as a potential act of terrorism, has prompted the administration to implement aggressive immigration restrictions, including mass green-card reviews, expanded deportation operations, and a renewed push for suspending all refugee and asylum programs.

Walz acknowledged the seriousness of the shooting but argued that Trump’s broad-brush attacks on entire communities are counterproductive.

“You can go after criminals without smearing people who have done nothing but contribute to our state,” he said. “There is a way to secure the border without losing our character as a nation.”

Minnesota’s Somali Community Responds

In Minneapolis and St. Paul, community leaders expressed gratitude for Walz’s defense while preparing for a potential rise in harassment incidents. Rep. Omar, who has been the target of Trump’s attacks for years, warned earlier this week that the president’s rhetoric “endangers people’s lives,” noting that federal authorities have documented spikes in threats each time Trump singles out the Somali-American community.

Local organizations—including the Somali American Coalition, the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, and CAIR-MN—held town hall meetings over the weekend to address safety concerns and debunk misinformation circulating online.

“This is not just policy. This is personal,” one community organizer said. “Words from leaders like the president have power.”

Trump Silent on Slur, Silent on Misinformation

The president has not walked back his slur or corrected his false claims about Minnesota. His campaign responded only with a fundraising email calling Walz “weak” and accusing him of being “more loyal to migrants than to Americans.”

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not answer questions about Trump’s language, instead repeating the administration’s contention that green-card reviews are “essential for national security.”

A Preview of 2026—and 2028

The confrontation is widely seen as a preview of the messaging battle ahead of the 2026 midterms—and possibly a 2028 presidential run by Walz, who was the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee in 2024 and remains popular in the Midwest.

For now, Walz insists his focus is not political, but moral.

“This is about who we are,” he said. “This is about whether we rise to our better angels—or sink to the level of the worst instincts in our politics. Minnesota knows who we are. And we are not what Donald Trump says we are.”