President Donald Trump endorsed former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race Monday night.

He voiced his support for Tafoya at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, right after a xenophobic diatribe about Somali immigrants in Minnesota.

“We’re not going to stand for it,” he said. “You have to vote for Michele Tafoya, who's a very respected person.”

For Tafoya, the endorsement comes at a moment when she has aimed to paint herself as an independent voice.

“A senator should work for Minnesota, not party bosses, lobbyists, or even the president,” Tafoya said in a TV ad released last week. “I'm a pro-choice Republican. I'm not afraid to stand up to my party.”

Tafoya was asked Tuesday morning — as she released a plan to bolster public safety in the state — how she felt about Trump’s endorsement.

“I heard about that,” Tafoya said. “Look, this campaign is about bringing all Minnesotans together, whether they voted for President Trump or whether they voted for Kamala Harris, or whether they didn't vote at all.”

She was asked if the endorsement came as a surprise.

“Most of the things that the president says are a surprise to somebody,” she said.

The campaign of Tafoya’s DFL opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, quickly publicized Trump’s endorsement of Tafoya, sending out a response soon after he announced it.

“Michele Tafoya spent all year auditioning for Donald Trump’s endorsement, and yesterday she got it. No wonder he calls her ‘very respected’— she’s in lockstep with him on everything,” Flanagan campaign spokesperson Lexi Byler said.

Tafoya spoke Tuesday about her plan to address crime, speaking alongside members of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.

She pointed to the recent arrest of an 18-year-old on allegations he was planning a mass shooting at the Mall of America and an unrelated shooting at a football game in Eden Prairie, both of which involved Somali teenagers, as she spoke about her public safety plan.

“We cannot live like this, and we don't have to,” she said. “All Minnesotans from all walks of life deserve quiet streets, safe schools and peaceful neighborhoods.”

Tafoya has been pressing the issue of fraud in government programs heavily during the campaign, but added, “Minnesota has a crime crisis as well.”

According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the overall crime rate in 2025 was the lowest in the last eight years. Violent crime has dropped below pre-pandemic levels.

Tafoya then said Flanagan has not done enough to address crime.

“She cannot even use the phrase ‘Somali gang violence’ because she is too extreme and too politically correct,” Tafoya said.

At the same time, Tafoya distanced herself from rhetoric Trump has used about the Somali community in recent weeks, saying it was “not appropriate.”

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.