Back in August 2024, I wrote that picking Tim Walz was Kamala Harris' first big choice of her failed presidential campaign, and that it was her biggest mistake. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but it made no sense to me (at the time) that Harris would pick Walz when Josh Shapiro would likely have carried the much-needed swing state of Pennsylvania for her.
Then again, when I wrote that, we had no idea about the massive fraud in Minnesota's welfare programs or the rest of his failed leadership.
Despite that, the Minnesota Star Tribune is sending off Walz with this absolutely disgusting attempt to rewrite his legacy.
Olson: As Walz leaves office, his legacy is secure https://t.co/o3GRTX67sg
— The Minnesota Star Tribune (@StarTribune) November 11, 2026
Here's how Olson sees Walz's legacy:
Walz is a lightning rod for angry Republicans and conservatives in Minnesota and beyond. These motivated, malevolent scribes take issue with seemingly every decision he makes from dawn to dusk, private and public. They come up with epithets and threats beyond my capacity for spewing at another human.
Nevertheless, I will persist with a well-earned, appreciative note for this governor.
Do I agree with everything he’s done? Of course not. But there’s abundant criticism of Walz to be found elsewhere.
I have seen enough of this governor to know that for the past eight years in St. Paul he’s worked with the singular goal of making life better for Minnesotans – even the ones who disagree with him.
With his DFL partners, he’s been wildly successful even amid a succession of unforeseen tragedy and violence.
With last week’s DFL sweep of the elections, the Walz legacy is secure.
Simply incredible rewriting of history, isn't it?
She called the fraud a "tiny speck of Walz's legacy.
Minnesota's paper of record just called the Walz fraud a "tiny speck." 🤡
— Kentucky Girl (@Kentuckygirl1) November 11, 2026
🔹 The Star Tribune ran a column today titled "As Walz leaves office, his legacy is secure."
🔹 Columnist Rochelle Olson says the social services fraud will settle into "a tiny speck amid the galaxy of… pic.twitter.com/gUiuDQXKpt
A $9 billion "tiny speck."
On COVID, Walz kept schools closed as long as possible, harming millions of Minnesota children. During the summer of 2020, Walz let Minneapolis burn. At least one person died; Walz blamed the riots on a lack of "equity" and "diversity."
"A society that does not put equity and inclusion first will come to this result," Walz said. Meanwhile, his wife, Gwen, talked about how she loved the smell of burning cities. In 2023, Walz established a DEI department in response to the riots.
Walz would later ask for federal relief funds despite doing nothing to quell the chaos in his state.
On socialism, Walz called it "neighborliness," which I suppose is appropriate when you set up a snitch line to report your neighbors for COVID violations. Socialism, and it's rabid cousin communism, killed over 100 million people in the 20th century. It creates poverty and destruction wherever it is tried. Look at Venezuela. Look at Cuba.
Walz calls this "neighborliness." Mr. Rogers to the white courtesy phone, please.
He also lied about his military service.
But all of that was known in 2024. Since then, we've learned that Walz didn't simply turn a blind eye to the billions in welfare fraud in his state. He knew about it and likely punished the whistleblowers and agencies trying to address the issue. He oversaw the chaos of ICE enforcement, refusing to cooperate with immigration laws and causing more protests. His then-Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan told Minnesotans to "put your bodies on the line" for illegal aliens. Two people did, and they ended up getting shot for it.
Then, in probably his most egregious act, Walz pardoned Tou Le Vang, a Loation man who was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl, starting when that girl was just 10 years old. Walz did it to keep Vang from being deported, because — in Walz's twisted world — the rights of illegal alien child molesters are more important than the rights of a child.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, thankfully, used his authority to revoke Vang's legal status and Vang was deported. But Walz couldn't keep his big mouth shut and said ICE shouldn't have deported the monster because "we can't all be judged by our worst day."
Like most of you, dear readers, I've had some pretty bad days. But none of my worst days involved repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old child. That Walz thinks sexual abuse is just a bad day is telling.
Walz leaves office with a legacy of corruption, scandal, and embarrassment. Unfortunately, Minnesota voters chose to reward that by electing more Democrats, so Walz's shameful legacy will continue to fester in the state for years to come.
