Viral Ghost Daycare Video Forces Tim Walz to Issue Frenzied Damage Control Statement

A spokesperson for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) issued a defensive statement late Sunday in the wake of an explosive video showing empty "daycare" facilities with misspelled signs, locked doors, and no trace of children despite millions in taxpayer funds flowing to them.

 Paired with his messaging on X earlier in the evening, it seems clear that Walz and his office are in full crisis mode.

The governor's office scrambled to fire off a statement to Fox News, insisting Walz had been cracking down on fraud for years by hiring auditors, shutting programs, and backing prosecutions. 

"The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action," the spokesperson said. "He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed."

The statement added that Walz has “hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”

---

READ MORE: Tim Walz Called Out Over Viral Video of MN Daycare Tied to Millions With No Kids and a Misspelled Sign

Journalist Nick Shirley Shreds Tim Walz’s Desperate Bid to Sound Competent As Scandal Implodes

---

Walz also tried to divert attention to the ongoing scandal, as RedState's Nick Arama reported, by posting an X message highlighting all of the supposed positives in his state. 

"#8 state for safety. #5 state to live in. #3 state for jobs. #2 state to raise a family, and #2 state to retire," he wrote. "We’ve made progress, but there’s more to do to deliver security, opportunity, and freedom to every Minnesotan. I won't quit fighting until we're #1."

The post backfired almost immediately with independent videographer Nick Shirley, the man behind the viral ghost daycare video, suggesting Minnesota is "#1 for fraud."

The frantic pushback by Walz comes as a 42-minute video from Shirley—now viewed tens of millions of times—exposed multiple seemingly deserted childcare centers and healthcare providers, including Somali-linked facilities. 

One facility that particularly raised the ire of viewers was a daycare with the misspelled sign "Quality Learing Center" which had nobody there despite being licensed to care for up to 99 children. That same center had received millions in federal taxpayer money over the past several years.

If you try to knock on the doors of Somali-owned daycares that have received millions of tax dollars from the Minnesota government, liberal white women will accuse you of being ICE. pic.twitter.com/FJ4YAa5qtP

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 26, 2025

The explosive footage has ignited outrage from figures like Elon Musk (who demanded Walz's prosecution), Vice President JD Vance (who called it a "microcosm of the immigration fraud"), and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN-6), who publicly called out the governor.

"4 million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly. Care to explain this one, Tim Walz?" Emmer asked.

The daycare controversy comes as the Somali community is already embroiled in a fraud scandal that some observers estimate may have cost taxpayers as much as $9 billion. Some businesses have been accused of funneling millions of those fraudulently obtained funds to the terror group Al-Shabaab. 

Walz's damage-control effort appears increasingly desperate. But unless and until investigations yield some accountability in the governor's office, there is no reason to think he won't survive the fraud debacle. 

If he does survive this mess politically, it seems safe to assume that no Democrat will ever be held responsible for the corruption that takes place on their watch.