Now that Tim Walz has dropped out of the upcoming gubernatorial campaign (HA!), likely due to the vast amount of alleged fraud he could be implicated in, Drew Holden has been good enough to put together a thread humiliating the mainstream media for once again protecting a bad actor because of the letter by his name.
As always, grab a snack:
Quick 🧵thread🧵
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
With the news that Walz’s reelection campaign won’t survive the spiraling child care center fraud scandal in his state, I wanted to reup some of the worst legacy media efforts to put lipstick on this particular pig.
Follow along: ⤵️
So, this is not really a quick thread (how could it be when dragging the media for being such lying hosebags), but it's definitely worth your time. We're not sure we've ever seen Holden put out a thread that everyone shouldn't read.
I have to start with @nytimes, who seemed positively incensed that a video from @nickshirleyy caught fire, accusing him of being “in search of politically charged footage,” while burying whether there were any kids at these child care centers in the first place. pic.twitter.com/v9eylfNgTX
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Many of them have spent far more time attacking Nick Shirley than covering the actual fraud allegations.
This from the same @nytimes who a few weeks ago wrote an extensive piece about “how fraud swamped Minnesota’s social services system on Tim Walz’s watch.”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
But now, it was just the video that caused this?
C’mon. pic.twitter.com/npEIhK7mUU
They're jelly?
But there were more awful defenses of these child care centers that receive millions of taxpayer dollars.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Here’s @AP relying on the head of the now-famous (and allegedly closed) “ABC Learning Center” to suggest this criticism is “a political Campari against Somali Minnesotans.” pic.twitter.com/DeEFNGG9He
Recommended
Yes, it was all racism. Clearly.
(Speaking of flashbacks, probably no surprise that a month ago @AP ran a piece quoting a Somali community activist in Minnesota urging people to “look at what we did around here.”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
It seems people did.) pic.twitter.com/FfXHxvrXVM
Oopsie.
But what really got me was outlets parroting claims from the Minnesota government that alleged child care centers were “working as they should” despite half of them actively being under state investigation.@NBCNews, is the presence of “ongoing investigations” really “normal”? pic.twitter.com/pDB41C1W8Z
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Our favorite was when the one statie claimed the Quality 'Learing' Center had closed the previous week, yet a bunch of kids showed up the day after the footage broke... they couldn't even get their cover story straight.
You might think this kind of defense was a one off.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
But it wasn’t. Here’s a headline from @CNN doing the same.
Just quoting a government statement without interrogation is not journalism. It’s propaganda. pic.twitter.com/JOvNqwiYu0
It's what they do.
It's who they are.
Again, outlets like @CBSNews just parroted the Minnesota government that may be overseeing a massive fraud scandal and called it news. pic.twitter.com/RciNVoIY28
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
The government says it is not committing fraud, so we should totally trust it.
CBS. smh
But @StarTribune did one better, going to the child care centers that @nickshirleyy went to, finding evidence that fewer than half of them were doing what they said they were to receive millions in taxpayer subsidies, and claiming that was evidence that…the video was bogus? pic.twitter.com/b0ojID0R8n
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
HA HA HA HA HA
There were other bizarre elements of this.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Billions of dollars in alleged fraud and @NPR is focused instead on the “threats” facing the alleged fraudsters — at least some of which appear to be invented. pic.twitter.com/8C6Es01WCn
Remember the break-in from the INSIDE?
Apparently, at @CNN, if the potential fraudsters and the government potentially supporting them say there’s no fraud, there’s no fraud. (H/t @CurtisHouck) pic.twitter.com/iEH2ET6CAV
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Yup.
And of course, there was plenty of shooting-the-messenger, @nickshirleyy, who they dub a “MAGA journalist.”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Here’s @CNN lamenting that he lacked the “fact checks and guardrails” that legacy media rely on.
Maybe those were effective in ensuring this scandal wasn’t uncovered. pic.twitter.com/ycFWRyiQh2
The media is furious that they no longer get to call the shots.
But we saw the same thing from @NPR.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Supposedly he had a “lack of evidence” and — richest of all — was “an ‘independent journalist’ with an agenda.”
A truism: when the legacy press can’t win an argument on the merits, the target shifts to the messenger. pic.twitter.com/eO2vgMBAfE
With an agenda? Coming from NPR? Now THAT is hilarious.
When the cycle of coverage moved on to the mourning phase, @CBSNews lamented that Minnesota allegedly “lacked the teeth” to hold fraudsters accountable.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Given the billions of dollars available for the stealing, I doubt that. pic.twitter.com/VkvLf7nbUp
Uh huh.
But the final phase of the cycle was the most predictable (if bizarre): it’s Republicans fault, says @atrupar, citing…a Republican governor from over a decade ago. pic.twitter.com/3smXJZSjJm
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
If they can't make the story about Republicans pouncing, they will find a way to blame Republicans.
The news cycle seems to be moving faster than ever, but let’s not lose the memory of how the legacy media reliably rush in as firefighters whenever a Democratic interest goes up in flames.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 5, 2026
Brave firefighters.
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