Letter to the editor: Trump's war on Minnesota

Brunswick Beacon, 02.12.26

On Sept. 25, 2025, President Trump told a gathering of 800 generals and admirals that “defending the homeland is the military’s first and most important priority.” He claimed, “America is under invasion from within,” and blamed “politicians” who decided to involve America in the affairs of “Somalia.”

Trump’s reference to “politicians” and “Somalia” dates to the 1991 decision of President George H. W. Bush (a Republican) to grant “Temporary Protection Status” to refugees fleeing Somalia’s ongoing Civil War.

The largest concentration of Somali refugees is in Minnesota — 83% are naturalized U.S. citizens. On Dec. 2, Trump called them “garbage,” said, “I don’t want them in our country,” and told them to “go back where they came from.”

Having identified the “enemy within,” Trump said, “Democrats run most of the cities that are in bad shape … we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.” Trump deployed more than 3,000 armed personnel to Minnesota. He gave his offensive the militaristic-sounding name “Operation Metro Surge.”

The tragic killing of Renée Good by masked federal agents — and their subsequent killing of Alex Pretti — were foreseeable results of Trump’s undeclared war on Minnesota. When Gov. Tim Walz called Trump and implored him to stop the bloodshed, Trump said he “doesn’t understand what’s wrong with Minnesota.” Walz replied, “Nothing’s wrong, Mr. President. We’re one of the most effective states and one of the best places to live.”

Trump told Walz, “We did this in New Orleans, we did it in Louisville, there’s no problems.” Walz said, “‘You didn’t kill anybody in Louisville or New Orleans.” When Trump replied, “It was successful in Venezuela,” Walz was shocked that Trump compared an American city to a military target.

Trump attacked Venezuela with a nuclear-powered carrier and 150 aircraft, killing 83 people. Americans are horrified to see our cities become “training grounds” for military-style operations. Trump sees it as an opportunity too good to waste.

Nancy Briganti

Carolina Shores