Trump Antisemitism Envoy Slams Walz Anne Frank Comparison
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The Trump administration’s special envoy to combat antisemitism harshly criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for comparing him to a crackdown on illegal immigrant criminals holocaust and Anne Frank.
Walz was speaking to reporters Sunday after Alex Pretti, 37, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Intensive Care Unit nurse, was shot and killed during an encounter with immigration officials a day earlier.
At the news conference, Walz said some children in the state were afraid to go outside because of aggressive tactics used by federal agents.
FBI DIRECTOR PATEL WARNED ELECT OFFICIALS THAT ‘NO ONE’ IS EXEMPTED FROM FEDERAL AUDIT DUE TO THE MINNESOTA INVESTIGATION
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on January 5, 2026 in St. He held a press conference at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Referring to the German-Jewish young man who documented his life in hiding during the Nazi persecution in World War II, Walz said, “We have children hiding in their homes in Minnesota, afraid to go out. Many of us grew up reading the story of Anne Frank.”
“Someone will write that children’s story About Minnesotaand now there is one person who can put an end to this,” he added, referring to President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Trump’s special envoy charged with monitoring and combating antisemitism at the State Department, criticized the comparison, noting the difference between enforcing immigration law and genocide.
He wrote to X: “Ignorance like this mitigates the horrors of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was legally in Amsterdam and obeyed Dutch law.” “He was taken to a death camp because of his race and religion. His story has nothing to do with the illegal immigration, fraud and lawlessness that plague Minnesota today.”
ANTI-ICE MIXER ALLEGEDLY BITE FEDERAL OFFICER’S FINGER DURING MINNEAPOLIS ATTACK
President Donald Trump and Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun light candles during a memorial event at Trump National Doral Golf Club on Oct. 7. Kaploun, who serves as Trump’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for comparing immigration enforcement to the plight of Anne Frank. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“Our brave law enforcement officers should be celebrated, not tarnished by this historically ignorant and anti-Semitic comparison,” he added.
StopAntisemitism, which tracks antisemitic incidents, also responded to Walz’s words.
“To those who invoke the Holocaust or Anne Frank to score political points by remaining silent while hatred of Jews explodes around the world: Shame on you,” the group wrote on social media Monday. “Exploiting the murder of 6 million Jews while refusing to confront the violent anti-Semitism of our day is not remembering, it is an abuse of history.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Minnesota governor’s office.
To this day, Anne Frank is one of the most famous victims of the Holocaust, and her diary is required reading in many American schools. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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The Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security have said federal agents are targeting illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the United States. Some of the worst offenders have been arrested or charged with violent crimes and sex crimes against children, DHS said.
