Trump says Minneapolis would have burned down without him

Former President Donald Trump is again falsely claiming he won Minnesota in the 2020 election while describing the state as "out of control," attacking Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and suggesting Minneapolis would have "burned down to the ground" that same year if not for him.

Trump's comments came during a pair of interviews. One was posted Thursday by the conservative outlet Alpha News ahead of his Friday visit to the state. In the other interview with KSTP, Trump falsely claimed he won Minnesota in 2020 when he lost to President Joe Biden by about 7 percentage points.

Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin quickly condemned Trump's claim that he won Minnesota.

"Donald Trump has shown over and over again that he doesn't respect Minnesotans enough not to lie to our faces," Martin said in a statement Thursday. "Minnesotans will see through these lies and hold Trump accountable for the extreme MAGA agenda that he is trying to force on our state."

The former president is scheduled to headline the Republican Party of Minnesota's annual fundraising dinner Friday evening. Trump's campaign declined the Star Tribune's request for an interview.

In the Alpha News interview, Trump railed against Biden as the "worst president in the history of our country" and called his withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan "the most embarrassing day in the history of our country."

Trump claimed without evidence that many immigrants who cross the border illegally come from "prisons, mental institutions and terrorists." Additionally, he said, "You're going to have to have mass deportations. The country can't stand it, the country can't handle it."

Asked about anti-police sentiments, Trump said "you have to give them back their respect and dignity." Then he shifted his comments toward Minnesota and Minneapolis, specifically.

"If I didn't let things happen a certain way, you would have had Minneapolis — this would have burned down to the ground. It was terrible what they were doing. You look at what happened during that time, and we were very — I got awards for saving certain areas and saving certain towns because your politicians didn't want to act. They were unwilling to act," Trump said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, not Trump, called in the National Guard to quell the riots after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. And it's unclear what awards Trump was saying he received.

"When President Biden comes to town he delivers jobs and money for bridges. When Trump comes to town he brings the same old lies and a list of grievances. I have no doubt Minnesotans will vote, for the third time in a row, against Donald Trump," Walz said in a statement Thursday.

Alpha News didn't challenge any of Trump's statements during its brief interview.

Trump said it's "very sad what's happened to your state. Your state is out of control, and it's this radical left philosophy that cannot be allowed to continue."

He referred to GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer as "a terrific guy and a real leader." Last fall, Trump called Emmer a "RINO" — short for "Republican in name only" — and torpedoed the Minnesota congressman's bid to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Asked what he thought about Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Trump claimed the Minneapolis congresswoman "hates Jewish people and she hates Israel." Omar is an outspoken critic of Israel's government and an advocate for Palestinians. She's never said she hates Jewish people and has issued statements condemning antisemitism.

Omar responded to Trump with a sharply worded statement.

"Donald Trump traffics in hate, has 91 felony charges and has a history of sexually assaulting women. He is a criminal, fraud and a loser. While he continues to spread hateful lies about me, I am going to keep working to defeat him and save our democracy," Omar said.

Trump was more restrained during his interview with KSTP. He said he thinks he has a "really good shot" at winning Minnesota this November. He came within 1.5 percentage points of winning Minnesota in 2016 before suffering a more resounding loss four years later.

Asked if being on trial could hurt his standing with voters, Trump, who has called for his political opponents to be investigated and prosecuted in the past, said, "It's certainly something that has never been done before in this country. It's the witch hunts; it's the weaponization of government."