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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz crossed a line this week when he compared the recent ICE presence in his state to the tragedy of Anne Frank and the Holocaust after the Jan. 24 shooting of Alex Pretti. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum publicly rebuked Walz on Jan. 26, calling such analogies “deeply offensive” and warning against false equivalencies that exploit history for political purposes. That rebuke should settle the matter for any adult who understands that real evil and industrialized genocide are not campaign talking points.
This was no clumsy rhetorical flourish — it was a deliberate, politicized comparison that cheapens the memory of millions murdered for being Jewish. Conservatives rightly find it repulsive when Democrats fling Nazi metaphors like confetti because it erodes moral clarity and insults survivors and their descendants. There is no moral equivalence between enforcing immigration laws and the systematic, state-sponsored slaughter carried out by the Nazis.
Let’s be clear about the context: federal agents were deployed to Minnesota under a broad enforcement initiative, and tragic encounters — including the Jan. 24 shooting — have inflamed public opinion. Labeling ICE as a “Gestapo” or likening its actions to the Holocaust is inflammatory and reckless; it undermines rule of law and places officers and civilians at greater risk. Americans want accountability for any misuse of force, but they also want lawful authority respected and criminals stopped, not grandstanding comparisons that fuel outrage without solving problems.
Governor Walz’s theatrics also expose a deeper problem on the left: an addiction to hyperbolic victimhood that substitutes spectacle for leadership. When rhetoric replaces policy, communities pay the price — schools shutter, tempers flare, and the important work of impartial investigations and restoring calm is sidelined. If Walz truly cares about safety and children, he should demand real answers, not historical cheap shots designed to score points.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum did the right thing by calling out this misuse of history, but the lesson should extend beyond a single rebuke. Political leaders must show restraint and respect when invoking the worst atrocities in human history, and they must focus on practical solutions that protect residents and preserve order. Minnesotans deserve governors who lead with courage and sobriety, not those who trade in incendiary comparisons for headlines.
At a time when America faces real threats at the border and in our cities, we need steady hands — not rhetoric that trivializes suffering and polarizes communities. Preserve the memory of the past, demand accountability in the present, and insist on leadership that protects families and the rule of law. That’s the common-sense conservatism working Americans expect and deserve.
