On Saturday, State Rep. Melissa Hortman of Minnesota and her husband were shot and killed by an assailant, who also shot another Minnesota state lawmaker and also had a list in his car of other Democratic political figures, including Gov. Tim Walz. It was Walz who announced to the press that Hortman, his friend and colleague, who played a key role in passing Walz’s ambitious legislative agenda, had passed away.
Later in the weekend, when Trump was asked about the shooting, Trump couldn’t resist getting a dig in at Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024.
“Well, it’s a terrible thing. I think he’s a terrible governor. I think he’s a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too,” Trump told reporters, as reported by ABC News.
Asked by ABC whether he plans to call Gov. Walz following the shooting of Dem lawmakers in Minnesota, Trump responded:
“Well, it’s a terrible thing. I think he’s a terrible governor. I think he’s a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people… pic.twitter.com/PkdJUZmrVC
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) June 15, 2025
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The man accused of the shooting, Vance Boelter, was arrested late Sunday night and has been charged with the two murders, as well as additional crimes. Boelter is facing charges in both state and federal courts.
New information we’re learning:
Vance Boelter is now in federal custody. Federal officials say Boelter researched his victims and families, stalked them like prey, and planned his attack carefully. https://t.co/SyCrkQMH7S pic.twitter.com/sjeKynjTaj
— Chenue Her (@ChenueHer) June 16, 2025
“This was a political assassination, which is not a word we use very often in the United States, let alone here in Minnesota. It’s a chilling attack on our democracy, on our way of life. It’s only the most recent example of violent political extremism in this country,” acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said when the federal charges were announced.
The charges, now that they have been filed, contradict a large body of conspiracy theories that have spread online since the shooting, including that the shooter was a leftist or that Walz had somehow put him up to shooting his colleague.
It is also untrue, as has been alleged, that Hortman was on the verge of switching parties — she attended a Democratic dinner hours before her death — or that Boelter’s wife was once an intern for Walz, who turned out to be a different person with the same name. Nor is Walz’s appointment of Boelter to a nonpartisan advisory board an indication that he and the governor were close or that they were political allies.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
