Walz’s Press Conference Was Such a Disaster That He Bolted Without Taking Questions

On Monday morning, we learned that Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) is dropping his reelection bid.

Walz released a statement Monday morning confirming reports that he was dropping out of the race and later held a press conference.

Minnesota has to come first - always.

Today, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make Minnesota the best place to live and raise kids.

I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work. pic.twitter.com/AYbvcOzyPI
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 5, 2026

Though he framed it as a selfless act designed to allow him to focus on going after the fraudsters who stole somewhere between $9 billion and $18 billion from the state during his tenure as governor, there’s no doubt that this was an act of political realism. By staying in the race, he was hurting the Democrats’ chances of holding onto the governorship.

If you watched his afternoon press conference, it probably sounded familiar to you, because all Walz did was essentially read that statement verbatim.

I watched the embattled governor’s remarks to reporters and, within seconds, realized they were just a lightly edited version of the written statement he released earlier in the day. Anyone who compared the two texts could follow along line by line. He again gave the same lip service to the outrage at the fraud he allowed. He again accused Republicans and President Donald Trump of exploiting the crisis politically. He again accused the White House of demonizing Somali communities and withholding child care funds.

He again insisted his administration had aggressively tackled fraud, fired bad actors, locked down programs, and put the right people in charge. And he again cast himself as the adult in the room, reluctantly abandoning politics so he could focus on governing. Same script as before. None of it was new.

He didn’t hold a press conference; he read a statement he’d released hours earlier. But the worst part was that the media expected to be able to ask questions.

But Walz didn’t answer a single question.

Instead, he closed the reading of his earlier statement with perhaps the most original part of the entire charade, which was basically him telling the media that he wasn’t going to answer any questions.

“I’m on the job,” he said. “I'm focused on making sure that we stay America's best place to live and raise kids. No one will take that away from us. I'm proud of the way we treat our neighbors. I'm proud of the way that we welcome people to this state. I'm proud of the way that we innovate. And I'm proud of the way that we are optimists for the future. No one's taking this away from us, not the fraudsters, certainly not this president, not on my watch. Tomorrow, I'll be back with you. I'll give you an update on America's best-paid family medical leave program that is now a week into it. And at that time, I'll take all your questions. Thank you, all.”

Reporters were confused. If you watch a clip of the end of the press conference, it’s clear they were also a bit angry that they didn’t get to answer questions.

JUST IN: Reporters audibly furious after Governor Tim Walz abruptly ends and bolts from his press conference after announcing he was dropping out of the 2026 race.

Reporter 1: "Are you s... wait what??"

Reporter 2: "Wow! Alright."

Reporter 3: "I thought you said you were… pic.twitter.com/SY5Z0JPCYk
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 5, 2026

“You said you were gonna take questions,” a reporter can be heard asking. “Why didn't you?”

So Walz enticed the media to cover his press conference by saying he’d answer questions, then didn’t. Talk about gutless. He wanted to get his story out without any pushback, plain and simple, and the worst part is, he couldn’t be bothered to write a unique speech; he just regurgitated a previously published statement. By bailing on questions, Walz ensured that the only version of events on the record that day was his own. For a governor claiming to put Minnesota first and politics second, it was a telling decision.

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