‘They Stole $18 BILLION!’ Trump Treats Mar-A-Lago NYE Revelers to Wild Rant About Minnesota Fraud

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President Donald Trump opened his New Year’s Eve party with a rant about the allegations of fraud in Minnesota — telling the crowd that the case constituted “a giant scam.”

Speaking to guests at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Wednesday, the president launched into diatribe against the alleged fraud.

“They stole 18 billion dollars!” said Trump. “That’s just what we’re learning about. That’s peanuts.”

He went on to claim that there was additional fraud in other Democratic-led states, calling it “a reason for a good new year” because his administration would “get that money back.”

“And California is worse. Illinois is worse. And sadly New York is worse. A lot of other places,” he said. “So, we’re going to get to the bottom of all of it. It was a giant scam. Other than that, we’re going to have a great New Year. Actually, I view that as a reason for a good New Year because we’re going to get to the bottom of– we’re going to get that money back. It’s all coming back.”

The president’s words came hours after Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the administration would freeze federal child care funding nationwide until “states prove they are being spent legitimately.”

That followed Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill’s Tuesday announcement that the administration had frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota.

The administration’s recent scrutiny on Minnesota, and fraud write large, was partially brought on by influencer Nick Shirley, whose video investigation of the state’s daycares went viral last week, receiving praise from many on the right, including Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk.

In his video, Shirley and his crew visit multiple Minnesota child-care centers on a weekday, only to find them nonoperational, per allegations made in the segment. The YouTuber went so far as to accuse Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) of child-care fraud, claiming $110 million in taxpayers dollars have gone to fund empty day-care centers.

O’Neill’s announcement cited Shirley’s video directly.

“[HHS Assistant Secretary] Alex Adams and I have identified the individuals in @nickshirleyy’s excellent work. I have demanded from @GovTimWalz a comprehensive audit of these centers,” he wrote.

Walz responded in a post to X, accusing Trump of “politicizing the issue.”

“This is Trump’s long game,” Walz wrote. “We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.”