The tab police, they live inside my head ...
JUST IN: Reporters audibly furious after Governor Tim Walz abruptly ends and bolts from his press conference after announcing he was dropping out of the 2026 race.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 5, 2026
Reporter 1: "Are you s... wait what??"
Reporter 2: "Wow! Alright."
Reporter 3: "I thought you said you were… pic.twitter.com/SY5Z0JPCYk
Reporter 3: "I thought you said you were going to take questions? Why didn't you?"
Ed: Need we ask? He and Kamala Harris avoided the press as much as possible. Turns out that it wasn't just Harris who won't talk to the media. Looks like Governor JazzHands McSnitchLine doesn't much like accountability on his own. And that works in Minnesota, where the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is practically allergic to reporting in general, and specifically reporting on Democrats.
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Matt Margolis at PJM: Reporters were confused. If you watch a clip of the end of the press conference, it’s clear they were also a bit angry that they didn’t get to answer questions.
“You said you were gonna take questions,” a reporter can be heard asking. “Why didn't you?”
So Walz enticed the media to cover his press conference by saying he’d answer questions, then didn’t. Talk about gutless. He wanted to get his story out without any pushback, plain and simple, and the worst part is, he couldn’t be bothered to write a unique speech; he just regurgitated a previously published statement. By bailing on questions, Walz ensured that the only version of events on the record that day was his own. For a governor claiming to put Minnesota first and politics second, it was a telling decision.
Ed: It was an entirely expected decision, in keeping with Walz' character. He's running away from politics because he made the monumentally stupid choice to turn himself into a national figure, and in doing so made himself and Minnesota a story that the Strib can no longer keep covered up.
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I ENDED TIM WALZ
— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) January 5, 2026
Ed: Nick deserves a ton of credit for this. He's also clearly posting this with tongue in cheek. Let's also remember, though, that the Power Line folks built the platform for dealing with fraud in Minnesota, without which Shirley wouldn't have been there. I'm happy to spread credit among all of the folks who participated in that effort ... including our own David Strom and Mitch Berg, who have been attempting to expose this in their own ways for years on AM1280 The Patriot, even before contributing here.
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Axios: State of play: The buzz about a Klobuchar bid comes on the heels of Walz's Monday announcement that he is scrapping plans to run for an unprecedented third consecutive term.
- Reports that the two top Democrats met privately over the weekend — and the registration of several website domain names such as Klobucharforgovernor.com — further fueled the speculation.
What we're hearing: Klobuchar is actively weighing a gubernatorial bid, sources told Axios.
- One source familiar with her thinking said a final decision hadn't been made. Another source indicated she is likely to jump into the race.
Ed: Let's be straight about this – if Klobuchar gets into the race, she clears the DFL primary field and wins the general election without breaking a sweat. The question is whether A-Klo really wants this. Right now, she's one of 100 legislators with no real executive responsibilities. Does she want to become an executive who will immediately be responsible for the conduct of a corrupted government, while operating mainly outside of the national media arena unless she screws up? I think she'll do it, but I'm not sure of it yet.
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SUBMITTED: Minneapolis Craigslist post in search of child actors for daycare site where funding was “cruelly ripped away without cause.”
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) January 4, 2026
“To help hurry this state vetting process, we are looking to hire 20 child actors for 3 days while state is present on site.”
$1,500/day… pic.twitter.com/vvhDCR235g
Ed: That's $90,000. Someone is spending big money to attempt to protect fraud. If these childcare centers were legit, there would be no need to hire crisis actors for video of "normal" operations. The ad got pulled down, but it's not clear whether it was because of the exposure, or because they hired all the actors they needed.
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Isaac Schorr, Mediaite: In a few representative examples of the progressive reaction to Operation Absolute Resolve, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) decried Trump’s “reckless” decision and declared that her city would “continue to stand for peace, democracy, and diplomacy”; her newly-minted Big Apple counterpart Zohran Mamdani (D) submitted that “unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law”; and The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur, as is his wont, perceived the Maduro operation as a nefarious Zionist plot.
What painful distortions of the facts these are. ...
For both those invested in the world order underwritten by America, the relegation of Maduro from axis henchman to New York City inmate is a monumental victory notable for both its strategic and principled significance. His boot has been removed from the throat of his people, and the axis has been stripped of a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.
Absolute Resolve wasn’t a mistake borne of might-makes-right thinking, but a masterstroke in which might was exercised in service of right. Three cheers for its clear-eyed architects and the brave men and women who carried it out.
Ed: Is it possible that this could go sideways? Sure. But we've been trying everything else for 27 years while Chavez and Maduro allowed Hezbollah to set up a terror-trafficking network for Iran's benefit in the Western Hemisphere. It was time to try something new.
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MADURO: “I’m a decent person!”
— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) January 5, 2026
Also MADURO: https://t.co/mh5Ib2t45h pic.twitter.com/pqfgyE5qGS
Ed: Is this why Bass, Mamdani, and other progressives are defending Maduro? Sadly, yes.
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Washington Post Editorial Board: Millions of people around the world, most of all in Venezuela, are celebrating the downfall of the dictator Nicolás Maduro. President Donald Trump’s decision to capture him on Saturday was one of the boldest moves a president has made in years, and the operation was an unquestionable tactical success. The next step is ensuring that this triumph sets Venezuela up for stability and prosperity rather than more of the same, or worse. ...
There are also legitimate legal questions about the operation, though Maduro was viewed as a criminal by both Trump and Biden, who raised the reward to $25 million for information leading to his arrest. The administration says it did not give anyone in the legislative branch a heads up because of concerns about leaks, and they sold the operation as a law-enforcement action. That's a stretch given the extensive involvement of the military, and it’s good for democratic hygiene to scrutinize the decision.
With tough decisions coming and many obstacles ahead, it’s fair to look forward. Yet it’s also fair to celebrate. For years, Maduro was a symbol of the false warmth of Latin American collectivism. Now he should spend the rest of his life in a humane American prison. His downfall is good news.
Ed: This was a surprisingly reasonable and sane take from a mainstream media organization. It's worth reading in its entirety, including the warnings where this could still go wrong. Let's hope the White House keeps these issues in mind and has plans to avoid the pitfalls.
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🚨 HOLY CRAP. Trump UN Ambassador Mike Waltz just EVISCERATED the UN globalists to their FACES for defending Maduro
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 5, 2026
"If the United Nations confers LEGITIMACY on an illegitimate narco-terrorist...WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATION IS THIS?!" 💯
"We should note that over 50 countries,… pic.twitter.com/MlgmMhetRx
"We should note that over 50 countries, many nations, including the European Union, including a number of Latin American countries in the region, and of course the United States, again over 50 countries rejected the legitimacy of Maduro's re-election following the disputed 2024 elections and do not, DO NOT recognize him as Venezuela's legitimately elected president!"
BOOM 🫳🎤
Ed: This is exactly the kind of organization the UN is. It's exactly the kind of organization the UN has always been. It's a protection racket for dictators, kleptocrats, anti-Semites, and grifters of all ranks and species.
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Free Beacon: "NO ROOM AT THE INN!" DHS posted on X, accusing Hilton of launching a "coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement."
The hotel blocked federal employees who attempted to book rooms using official government email addresses and federal rates, DHS said. The department characterized the cancellations as "malicious" and said they interfered with law enforcement operations.
DHS posted emails reportedly from hotel staff letting officers know they were not welcome at the hotel because of their profession. "After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected with your name and we will be cancelling your upcoming reservation," the email posted by DHS said.
"We have noticed an influx of GOV reservations made today that have been for DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property. If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation," another email posted by DHS read. "Please pass on this info to your coworkers that we are not allowing any immigration agents to house on our property."
Ed: Time to apply the Bud Light/Target treatment to Hilton? I've always been a Marriott traveler anyway, but it's good to know that I'm just as big a part of the boycott as I was with Bud products.
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BREAKING: Hilton statement to @FoxNews:
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 5, 2026
"Hilton hotels serve as welcoming places for all. This hotel is independently owned and operated, and the actions referenced are not reflective of Hilton values. We are investigating this matter with this individual hotel, and can confirm… https://t.co/e9UHjL4L1m
... We are investigating this matter with this individual hotel, and can confirm that Hilton works with governments, law enforcement, and community leaders around the world to ensure our properties are open and inviting to everyone."
Ed: Everyone involved should be fired. And then fire the replacements, just to be sure.
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Zohran Mamdani's Director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, Cea Weaver:
— Mamdani Watch (@MamdaniWatch) January 5, 2026
"We'll transition from treating property as an individual good to a collective good. Whites especially will be impacted."pic.twitter.com/xbc7FWrf7A
Ed: Quelle surprise.
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Truth, Joy, and Freedom from Venezuelan's that the media will not show you shared by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. We live in a time for choosing, and like Israel, it's not hard. Thank you @POTUS, @marcorubio & our Troops for having the will to make the world a better place. https://t.co/SaULJ5pCyG
— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) January 5, 2026
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