Nick Shirley fires back at Tim Walz, accuses him of 'deflecting' after embattled Minnesota gov hurls insults

Independent journalist Nick Shirley fired back at embattled Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his handling of the growing fraud scandal plaguing the North Star State. 

"Tim Walz, he called me far right. He called me a delusional conspiracy theorist. And then he also called me a White supremacist. Yet he can't deny any of the claims," Shirley said in a preview of Wednesday's debut of OutKick's "The Riley Gaines Show" podcast.  

"Because when you're speaking facts, these people can't come after you. And, so, when I was just speaking the facts about — fraud is fraud. Eighty-nine percent of the population committing the fraud is Somalian. That does not make me a racist. Dollars have no race to it. It's just a pure fact that money's being stolen from Republicans and Democrats."

NICK SHIRLEY SAYS ‘LEFTISTS’ ARE ‘COMING AFTER ME’ FOR EXPOSING MINNESOTA FRAUD

Independent journalist Nick Shirley sat down for an interview with Riley Gaines as part of the launch of OutKick's "The Riley Gaines Show." (OutKick)

"So, we have seen no denial from Tim Walz at this point, is that correct?" OutKick's Riley Gaines asked. 

"No denial. A lot of deflecting," Shirley responded. 

Shirley upended the news cycle last month with a 42-minute video investigating Minnesota daycare centers that appeared inactive despite receiving millions of dollars in government funding. The video, which has been viewed more than 138 million times on X alone, prompted investigations by federal officials and led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to freeze all childcare payments in Minnesota.

NICK SHIRLEY GLOATS HE ‘ENDED TIM WALZ’ AFTER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR SCRAPS RE-ELECTION BID AMID FRAUD SCANDAL

Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced he would not seek re-election at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., Jan. 5, 2026.  (Reuters/Tim Evans)

He told Gaines he has been the target of "leftists" since his reporting went viral. 

"I think something like this would just be ‘fraud is bad.' But, no, now people are coming after me for exposing fraud. And who are all those people? They're leftists," Shirley said in the interview.

"And it's just a moment where they could have really been like, 'OK, you guys, let's come together. Let's tell everyone, ‘Fraud is bad. Let's crack down on the fraud.' Instead, they come after the person who is exposing the fraud."

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Nick Shirley upended the news cycle last month with a 42-minute video investigating Minnesota daycare centers that appeared inactive despite receiving millions of dollars in government funding.  (Nick Shirley)

Walz announced Monday that he would no longer seek re-election for a third term as governor, claiming he wants to keep his focus on the people of Minnesota as the fraud scandal consumes his state. However, he vowed not to resign. 

Shirley celebrated the development, gloating on X that he "ended Tim Walz." 

His full interview with Gaines will be released Wednesday. "The Riley Gaines Show" will be available on all major podcast platforms. Watch more content from "The Riley Gaines Show" on Gaines' YouTube page. 

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