What changed? Gov. Tim Walz has spent a week ramping up his verbal attacks on ICE and even encouraging people to protest. Now suddenly, he's calling for calm and trying to extend some sort of olive branch to the White House. Here's the tweet he sent out a few hours ago.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 15, 2026
Turn the temperature down? Is that what Walz thinks he's been doing? Here he is calling federal agents the gestapo.
During a commencement ceremony speech at the U of M, Gov. Tim Walz described federal ICE agents as "Trump's modern-day Gestapo.” pic.twitter.com/D6mFIyH9Pm
— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) May 18, 2025
He later tried (unsuccessfully) to walk that back.
Today, Tim Walz tried to walk back his comments comparing ICE to the Gestapo, by stating:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 12, 2025
“I said President Trump was *using them* as his modern day Gestapo."
Problem is, he didn’t say that. pic.twitter.com/iVH9Ei0VTz
He has also been encouraging people to go out and protest.
Tampon Tim Walz says it's "a patriotic duty" to protest ICE.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 7, 2026
Only a deranged, sick individual would encourage his constituents to obstruct the arrests of criminal illegal aliens. pic.twitter.com/VyiZR4SXBV
He has suggested that Minnesota is at war with the federal government. Here he is comparing anti-ICE protests to the Civil War.
Tim Walz compares Minnesota’s protest of ICE to the third day at the Battle of Gettysburg and says we are in a modern day Civil War. This man has completely lost it: pic.twitter.com/uRcdjRnGFF
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 8, 2026
Twice he's outright said the state was at war.
Yesterday, Tim Walz declared Minnesota is at "war against the federal government."
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 7, 2026
Again today, he called it "war with our federal government."
This lunatic is SICK and DANGEROUS! pic.twitter.com/1WRBs1pBxI
Just last night he called for peaceful protests against ICE "atrocities" and then said people should have phones ready at all times to record ICE actions to preserve evidence for future prosecutions. He's planning some kind of truth and reconciliation commission it seems.
TIM WALZ: "If you see these ICE agents in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 15, 2026
"Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity, but to bank evidence for future prosecution." pic.twitter.com/V7fCMY3WZ1
I'm not sure how you get from "we're at war" to let's bring the temperature down. What changed his mind? Was it Trump's threat to invoke the insurrection act? Was it the ICE agent who was beaten by 3 Venezuelan immigrants last night? Was it the vandalism of government vehicles and the theft of weapons? Was the people surrounding and threatening people they think might be ICE agents?
This is the second time I’ve seen protesters bothering someone who they thought were ICE because of the type of SUV they had pic.twitter.com/2R7PCCt1nx
— Washingtons ghost (@washghost1) January 15, 2026
The NY Times suggests it might be a combination of everything.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota sought to calm quickly escalating tensions in his state on Thursday, asking protesters to demonstrate peacefully and pleading with President Trump to back off his threat to deploy the U.S. military to Minneapolis. The White House, meanwhile, accused Mr. Walz and other local leaders of encouraging violence.
On Wednesday evening, another shooting by a federal agent — the second there in a week — touched off more clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers in Minneapolis. In response, the president said he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows him to use the military to quash an insurrection or invasion. Mr. Walz implored him to “turn the temperature down” and “stop this campaign of retribution.”
The Wednesday shooting and the threats from the White House rattled a city already seething after a federal agent killed a woman there last week. In the days since, the administration has doubled down on aggressive tactics that local officials say are meant to spread fear and provoke backlash.
Meanwhile, the White House response has been pretty much identical to my own. How dare these clowns ask for calm after weeks spent fanning the flames.
"Tim Walz, Jacob Frey, and Democrat leaders in Minnesota have done nothing but turn up the temperature, smear heroic ICE officers, and incite violence against them — all in defense of criminal illegal aliens," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News.
"In Minnesota, ICE has arrested rapists, drug traffickers, domestic abusers, and more, despite Democrat opposition. The Trump Administration will protect the American people and enforce the law without apology. The only statement Tim Walz should be making is an apology. He has repeatedly compared ICE officers to Nazis and lied about their important work, including in his speech just last night," Jackson added.
The White House’s Rapid Response team also criticized Walz, writing on X, "Tampon, you gave a statewide address last night calling for ICE agents to be prosecuted for enforcing the law, so you might want to sit this one out."
"You're a pathetic failure and total disgrace," it added.
Something must have changed Walz's tune. Whatever that is, he'd be better off taking a look in the mirror before he lectures anyone else about the need to bring down the temperature.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Hot Air's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Hot Air VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member