The gaslighting isn’t even subtle anymore.
On Monday, Mediaite claimed — incorrectly — that the exploding Somali welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota hadn’t been mentioned once on CNN or MSNBC Now as of December 18. That assertion was soon disproven, when New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay appeared on Morning Joe to do what has become the default media reflex: acknowledge the fraud just enough to look credible, then immediately pivot to blaming Republicans for noticing it.
WTF?! MS NOW just claimed the Somali fraud is MADE UP by President Trump, and is only a focus because the government is being “weaponized”
“Why is this a priority?!”
“[Somalis] are being SCAPEGOATED for the far right!”
Un-freaking-believable. The media is the enemy. pic.twitter.com/f2KJX5YqaP
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 29, 2025
Gay’s remarks were a masterclass in media deflection. Yes, she conceded, fraud should be investigated — a line so bland it barely counts as a position. But then came the inevitable however.
Why is the Somali-led fraud in Minnesota being prioritized, she asked — as though the scale, brazenness, and international money trails leading to terrorist groups in Somalia were somehow not sufficient justification for national attention. As though the problem were not the crime, but the people who noticed it.
This is where the media and political elite reveal themselves. According to Gay, the real issue isn’t that taxpayer dollars — your dollars — were stolen through fake daycares, phony food programs, and fraudulent medical schemes, or that some of those funds may have ended up in the hands of Al-Shabaab, a group responsible for bombing civilians in East Africa.
MSNBC just claimed the massive Somali fraud in Minnesota is basically MADE UP by President Trump and that cracking down on it is just the government being “weaponized”!
You cant make this sht up. pic.twitter.com/Dy9pRkYAXT
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) December 29, 2025
No, the real issue, we’re told, is that Republicans are pouncing.
And this is what’s so backwards about the elite narrative. When federal officials finally act — as they are now, with DOJ indictments, FBI investigations, and multi-agency probes — we’re told this is “weaponization” against the Somali community. Not criminal accountability. Not justice. Just more “far-right” extremism in action.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about prioritizing fraud in Minnesota because the community is Somali. It’s about prioritizing it because that’s where the crime happened — on a level that is now estimated to have drained billions in taxpayer dollars. You don’t ignore the bank robbery because the suspect’s identity makes you uncomfortable. You investigate it because the vault is empty and someone has to be held accountable.
They are deliberately lying. This is no accident.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2025
And if your position is that uncovering this kind of fraud is only useful to the “far-right,” then maybe you need to rethink who’s really benefiting from the status quo.
This scandal isn’t partisan. It’s factual. And if your instinct is to protect a political narrative before protecting your own citizens, then maybe you’re not a journalist anymore — you’re a gatekeeper. And the gate just broke wide open.
