Tim Walz Deflects from Question About Dropping Out of Gubernatorial Race, Talks About January 6

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) avoided answering a question about why he dropped out of the 2026 Minnesota gubernatorial race, pivoting to talking about the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

While taking questions from reporters, Walz was asked if he made the decision to end his gubernatorial campaign by himself or if he received “pressure from Democratic allies.”

“This is a decision that I make, and make with my family,” Walz responded. “And, certainly I think, as I said, it’s the right decision.”

Walz continued to note that it was “appropriate” they were “here today” on January 6, and added that there was a “war that’s being waged against Minnesota.”

“I’m going to note to all of you, today is January 6. There’s no debate what happened — the President of the United States led an insurrection against a fair election to try and overturn that,” Walz added.

Walz continued to accuse President Donald Trump of punishing five states “with a freezing of federal funds illegally.”

Walz’s comments about January 6 come after he announced on Monday that he was dropping out of the 2026 Minnesota governor’s race. In his statement, Walz said that he was unable to “give a political campaign” his all, adding that “every minute” that he spends defending his “political interests would be a minute” he can’t defend the people in his state.

Walz’s statement says, in part:

In September, I announced that I would run for a historic third term as Minnesota’s Governor. And I have every confidence that, if I gave it my all, I would succeed in that effort.

But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all. Every minute I spend defending my own political interests 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 prey on our differences.

So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.

Walz’s announcement that he was dropping out of Minnesota’s gubernatorial election came after citizen journalist Nick Shirley shared a video of himself visiting several childcare centers in the state that allegedly received millions of dollars in federal aid. During his visits to these childcare centers, there did not appear to be signs of children.

Breitbart News’s John Nolte also reported that there have been many reports that the Somali community in Minnesota has allegedly “bilked American taxpayers out of tens of billions of dollars through various scams.”