Fact check: Trump baselessly claims Walz is ‘behind’ cyberattack, repeats debunked claims at Cabinet meeting
President Trump baselessly accused Minnesota Governor Tim Walz of being responsible for recent cyberattacks on water systems, despite federal officials pointing toward Iran. Walz and his spokespeople have rejected the claims, highlighting the administration's lack of a coherent strategy against foreign cyber threats.
Why it matters
The exchange underscores the highly polarized nature of US political discourse and the challenges of attributing complex cyber warfare incidents in a partisan environment.
President Donald Trump rattled off some of his most common false claims about the economy, immigration and his foreign policy record at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday. Trump also made an entirely baseless allegation about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Here is a fact check of some of his remarks at the meeting. Walz and cyberattacks Trump spoke about cyberattacks this week that have targeted local water systems in multiple states; it is not publicly known who is behind them, but US and state officials are treating Iran as one of the suspects. Trump said, “I think that Minnesota is behind it. You know who is behind it? Minnesota. Because they’re grossly incompetent. I think the governor is behind it.” He added, “I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack.
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