Tim Walz at a podium in front of an American flag.
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‘Threw the country into crisis’: Trump attacked for nationwide disarray due to his own recklessness

Of all the words one could use to describe President Donald Trump’s transition into power, chaotic almost doesn’t seen enough of an adjective. Since he’s been in office, he’s tried to end birthright citizenship, pardoned all Jan. 6 offenders, eliminated federal DEI programs, and tried to freeze government funds in an effort to consolidate his power.

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This is just the tip of a very deep iceberg that’s thrown the country into uncertainty, of course, and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is not taking this whole thing sitting down. The federal funding freeze in particular, he said, is “childish,” “buffoonish,” and, well, just plain stupid.

At a recent news conference, Walz said that while Trump was out golfing, he threw the United States into “crisis.” The hiring freeze affected child care, veterans’ health care, police and farmers, Walz said, calling Trump’s actions reckless.

The freeze has been one of the more tumultuous of Trump’s many actions as president so far. Recently, District Judge Loren AliKhan issued a restraining order on the freeze, which also affects all federal grants and loans. The freeze was only paused a number of days. Seemingly bowing to pressure, the Trump administration rescinded the freeze on Jan. 29.

Walz has been especially vocal about Trump as of late, and much more forceful than he was on the campaign trail when he was campaigning as former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Walz claimed the president had no idea about the implications of the freeze, saying that it “will not stand” and that it “cannot stand.” Turns out he was right.

The Minnesota governor has his eye on the big picture, accusing Trump of taking a page right out of Project 2025 in an effort to undermine the country. Project 2025 is a sort of blueprint for a way to radically restructure the government and the executive branch in particular. It was authored by former Trump officials along with the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.

The 900 page document is anti abortion, racial equality, LGBTQ rights, immigrants’ rights and reproductive rights for women. Some of its tenets can already be seen in action, such as mass deportations, cutting abortion access, censoring discussions about race and gender in the classroom and the suppression of protests.

Walz claimed the freeze shouldn’t surprise people because it’s laid out in the Project 2025 handbook. “I know you have a lot of questions,” he said at the press conference. “I have a lot of questions because not one damn person thought this through.” Walz even had choice words for the Republican governors that supported or stayed quiet about the federal freeze, like Minnesota Republican Representative Tom Emmer: “Shame on you.”

Walz’s fiery rhetoric is quickly making him the face of the resistance movement against Trump, and it’s a far cry from the beamish, high-school dad vibe we got from him on the campaign trail. As for the continuing fight against Trump, the governor said it’s going to take some “courage,” because standing up to Trump is going to be a “long fight,” and Trump and his cronies want to “destroy” the federal government as we know it. Walz sounds like he’s ready to take Trump head-on.


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Image of Jon Silman
Jon Silman
Jon is a freelance writer for The Mary Sue. He's been in the journalism industry for over a decade and covers pop culture, video games, politics and whatever other content holes that need to be plugged up. He has a journalism degree from the University of Florida and worked for a number of years as a print newspaper reporter in Florida, where he covered a number of high-profile stories. He now lives in Chicago with his soon-to-be wife Sarah and their purebred Maine Coon cat, Walter.