Trump baselessly blames Minnesota for cyberattack on its own water systems, rejects Iran involvement

Trump Blames Minnesota for Cyberattack, Dismisses Iranian Involvement

Publication Date: July 31, 2026

President Donald Trump baselessly claimed Friday that Minnesota had committed a cyberattack against itself.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump dismissed officials' concerns that a cyberattack on municipal water systems in Minnesota was the work of Iranian hackers.

"I don't think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota, because they're grossly incompetent," Trump said.

"I would blame it on Minnesota and the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota," Trump continued, referring to Governor Tim Walz. "They like to say, 'Oh, it's Iran!' Iran should be so lucky. Iran's got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota."

Trump offered no evidence to support his claim, apparently motivated not by facts but by sheer pettiness.

Federal and state officials said earlier this week that the cyberattack was probably the work of Iranian hackers, but they have not definitively determined who is responsible. They also cautioned that the hackers could simply be posing as Iranians in order to escalate the conflict between the two countries, though former intelligence officials said this was unlikely.

If the hackers were hoping to ratchet up tensions between the U.S. and Iran, they failed by picking a state that Trump has designated as an outlet for his blatant Islamophobia.

As reporters moved to exit the Cabinet meeting, Trump resumed his ranting about Minnesota.

"I think that Minnesota is behind it!" he declared.

"You know who's behind it? Minnesota. Because they're grossly incompetent. I think the governor's behind it. I don't think there was an Iranian cyberattack," Trump continued. "I think that Minnesota ought to get its act together. It's one of the worst-run states."

The president teased that his administration was planning "massive future things having to do with corruption" in Minnesota. The Trump administration has continued to pursue fraud allegations against Minnesota officials in a transparent effort to punish Democrats and antagonize immigrants.

Federal Judge Rebukes DOJ in Anthropic Case

The Trump administration is not making its case against Anthropic.

A federal judge flamed the government during a hearing Thursday, noting that Justice Department attorneys had failed to provide evidence "justifying" the Defense Department's decision to classify the AI company as a national security risk, or Donald Trump's subsequent order barring federal agencies from utilizing the company's services.

California-based U.S. District Judge Rita Lin literally spelled out the questions she would ask the government's attorneys via a legal notice earlier this week, but the DOJ still failed to impress. Lin remarked at the outset of the hearing that "if anything, it seems like the record in some ways has gotten worse for the government," according to the Law & Crime network.

In May, Lin blasted the government for the "Orwellian" way that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to sever ties with the AI contractor after Anthropic refused to grant the Pentagon unrestricted use of its AI bot, Claude, for military purposes.

At the time, the president and Hegseth claimed that Anthropic had gone "WOKE" for arguing that Claude could not safely or reliably be used for "autonomous lethal warfare and mass surveillance of Americans."

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