New Year’s celebrations are historically a time for positivity and goodwill, but not for Donald Trump, who rang in 2026 by toasting his Mar-a-Lago guests with a race-baiting rant.
Speaking at his New Year’s Eve party, Trump, 79, repeated his claim that Minnesota has been hit by sweeping fraud—citing an unsubstantiated ‘$18 billion’ figure while referencing what he called the “Somalia population”—and said other blue states had suffered in a similar manner.
“Can you imagine, they stole $18 billion,” he told his guests, calling it a “giant scam,” and adding, “That’s just what we’re learning about.”
He also told attendees he’d seen the House majority whip, Rep. Tom Emmer, 64, on television earlier that day, and said the Minnesota Republican had been discussing “the Somalia population” “not very nicely.”
Trump added: “California’s worse. Illinois is worse, and sadly, New York is worse. A lot of other places. So we’re going to get to the bottom of all of it.”
The amount involved in the Minnesota fraud has been fiercely disputed. Multiple outlets have reported that federal cases and charging documents to date have centered on hundreds of millions of dollars until viral social media allegations helped supercharge the controversy.
It’s not clear where Trump got the $18 billion figure from—although a Trump-appointed prosecutor, Joe Thompson, claimed this month that half or more of $18 billion in federal funds spent on 14 social programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen in what he called “staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”
Thompson, who served as the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota from June to October this year, had previously put the figure at around $1 billion.
Perhaps realizing his New Year’s speech was short of cheer and not delivering the upbeat vibe his guests may have hoped for heading into 2026, Trump attempted to tailor his message for the occasion—but in the only way he knows how.
“Other than that, we’re going to have a great new year,” he said. “Actually, I view that as a reason for a good new year because we’re going to get to the bottom of [it], we’re going to get that money back. It’s all coming back.”
Trump’s remarks come amid a fast-escalating political storm over fraud allegations tied to child care and other social service programs in Minnesota—an issue he has seized on repeatedly in the past month, often framing it around the state’s Somali American community.
The White House has also been forced to clarify precisely what it is doing with federal child care money. Reuters reported on Wednesday that HHS deputy Jim O’Neill initially announced a freeze in response to allegations in Minnesota.
But a department spokesperson later said funding to Minnesota had not been frozen, instead describing tightened documentation and audit requirements.
All of it is unfolding as Trump heads into the year of the midterms with underwater approval ratings and growing voter pessimism about the economy.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House office for comment.
