Minnesota again took its turn in the State of the Union spotlight. President Donald Trump on Tuesday mixed racism and lies to disparage Minnesota and its Somali population in his State of the Union address.
Minnesota has held center stage before in State of the Union reports to Congress, including 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln played on the fears and biases of many Americans living in the frontier. Lincoln reported to Congress, “In the month of August last the Sioux Indians in Minnesota attacked the settlements in their vicinity with extreme ferocity, killing indiscriminately men, women, and children.”
Lincoln did acknowledge that the cause of the war “is not definitely known” and allowed that “suspicions… may be unjust.” Unjust indeed. White settlers encroached on the tribe’s land and government agents stole funds and food guaranteed by treaty. Lincoln called the tribe’s action “wholly unexpected.” If that is true, it is only because many white settlers of the day found no fault in stealing from those who first owned the land.
Lincoln called on Congress for federal intervention to remove the tribes “as a guaranty against future hostilities.” Less than a month after Lincoln’s State of the Union report, 38 Native Americans were hanged in the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The sentences of 265 others were commuted.
More than 160 years later, another Minnesota population was singled out for disparagement. “The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception,” said Trump on Tuesday.
That’s true; under Trump, bribery, corruption, and lawlessness have become the norm in many parts of the country. To cite one of many examples, in 2025, more than 300 people nationally, including 60 in Florida, were charged with Medicare and Medicaid fraud in a $14.6 billion scheme.
Trump has contributed to the fraud. In 2020, he was so eager to get COVID relief dollars out the door with an election approaching that he pushed many programs through with little oversight or controls. The predictable results are massive cases of fraud. The Paycheck Protection Program and related Small Business Administration loan programs have resulted in at least $200 billion in fraud. Programs intended to provide low-cost bridge loans to help businesses stay afloat through the pandemic became a grant giveaway. The SBA inspector general has estimated that at least 70,000 loans are potentially fraudulent.
Then there is the more direct role Trump has played. He has exonerated those convicted of stealing billions of dollars from taxpayers and investors after allegedly receiving significant contributions to one of his campaign funds or receiving other favors.
Trump’s attacks on Somalis were just one part of a speech that was vacuous in its content, mean in its spirit, and divisive in its very intent. If President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union lives in anyone’s memory, it will be for its intensely partisan tone, the breadth of the lies, and its interminable length.
At a time when many Americans desperately are seeking solutions to very real and urgent challenges, Trump offered performance. He gave America the equivalent of a television variety show, basking in the glow of the achievements of others whom he then showered with prizes.
What Americans should have heard Tuesday is a realistic picture of the difficult choices ahead and a call to Congress for action. Debt is fueling both the country and too many households. There are no serious plans to fix healthcare, to make the cost of day-to-day living affordable, or to transition to an AI-dominated economy in which good, well-paying jobs still are available. Instead, Trump is presiding over an economy that created fewer jobs in ALL of 2025 than the average MONTHLY increase in 2023 and 2024.
Yes, the stock market is continuing its historic run. While not quite as robust as the increases in 2023 and 2024, the S&P 500 turned in a solid 17.9% increase last year. But what is that to the typical family? Only about 62% of American households own any stock at all, and for most low- and middle-income families, that investment is their retirement nest egg. What is their choice? Do they defy the advice of every economist and draw down their 401(k) funds to meet daily expenses or go deeper into debt? Trump answers that question by offering up the gold medals of the U.S. men’s hockey team. Heroes and inspiring athletes (the U.S. women’s hockey team as well), but they are entertainment, not a plan of action.
Democrats share in the blame for this paucity of policies. They have yet to propose clear, bold policies for a stronger and more equitable America. Shouting at Trump by members of Congress is more performance when substance is needed. Yes, Republicans have done it to Democratic presidents, but so what? Are Democrats exonerated for boorish behavior because they followed the worst example of a political party that has no moral compass? Please say the answer is no.
America desperately needs leaders and leadership today. Instead, we are getting political theater. Lincoln cannot and should not be excused for his shameful treatment of Native Americans fighting for their rights. But he also should be remembered for all the times his courage and wisdom contributed to saving a nation.
Lincoln ended his 1862 report to Congress by demanding leadership on the most urgent issues of the day: the war between the states and an end to slavery. “We know how to save the Union,” said Lincoln. “The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just—a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.”
That is the choice Trump should have put before Congress Tuesday and Democrats need to define going forward. America’s leaders can “nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.”
Trump offered meanness. Democrats need to be better.
Minneapolis deserves everything Trump threw at them in the State of the Union.