President Donald Trump raged about alleged social services fraud committed in Minnesota during a brief appearance at his New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday.
The debate about social services fraud in Minnesota reappeared this week after a right-wing YouTuber posted a video alleging he found $100 million in child care fraud at Somali-run child care centers. A top Republican in the state has admitted she steered the YouTuber to the centers, all of which had recently had their operations paused.
"We're back! I didn't think it could happen this fast, but it did," Trump said. "Faster than anybody thought possible. We have a lot of leaders here. Great leaders, like Tom Emmer, whom I saw on television today. He was talking about the Somalia fraud. He was talking about the Somalian population and not very nicely."
Trump and his allies have gravitated toward the Somali fraud story in recent days in an attempt to distract from the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files, some of which painted Trump's relationship with Epstein in an unscrupulous light.
"We're going to take back our country," Trump continued. "Can you imagine, they stole $18 billion. That's just what we're learning about."
"That's peanuts," he continued. "California is worse. Illinois is worse. And, sadly, New York is worse."
Trump: We’re going to take back our country. They stole $18 billion. That’s peanuts. California is worse. Illinois is worse. Sadly, New York is worse pic.twitter.com/7FiP0tXN9t
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 1, 2026