Minnesota Dem Senate candidate faces call from opponent to apologize over viral 'pandering' hijab video
Minnesota Republican senatorial candidate David Hann is calling on one of his potential Democratic opponents to apologize after a video of her wearing a hijab and supporting the Somali community amidst a massive fraud scandal went viral on social media.
"It's emblematic of the way she and other Democrat politicians in Minnesota have behaved over the past decade or so. They're very political," said former Minnesota state Sen. David Hann, who is running for Senate in the Republican primary, of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s video wearing a hijab and defending the Somali community amid a massive fraud scandal that has rocked Minnesota over the past several years.
"They just are pandering to political constituencies, and they're not doing the job that they were elected to do."
In the video, which was widely criticized by conservatives on social media last week, Flanagan can be seen donning a hijab while talking to Somali constituents.
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"Salam alaikum," Flanagan says in the video giving an Arabic greeting before saying, "The Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota."
"I am here shopping today and just encouraging other folks to show up, support our Somali businesses, support our immigrant neighbors, and I know that things are scary right now," Flanagan added in the video that was aired on Somali TV.
"Being part of Minnesota and growing up here, the Somali community has always been a part of my Minnesota," Flanagan added, while telling residents to "show up and support our Somali businesses and our immigrant neighbors."
"We’ve got your back," Flanagan said.
Flanagan, who has not spoken out in response to the viral investigation from journalist Nick Shirley highlighting the alleged fraud problem in Minnesota, faced criticism over the video from those who accused her of downplaying the scandal.
"This is what political performance looks like — symbolism over accountability — while billions in taxpayer dollars vanish," Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham posted on X. "Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wears hijab in solidarity with Somalis as feds probe multibillion-dollar fraud scandal."
Hann told Fox News Digital that Flanagan should apologize for and retract the video.
"They did not do their duty out of concern that they would offend a political constituency," Hann said. "So they haven't done anything to take responsibility for what the public expects them to do. So yes, she should apologize."
"She certainly should not be sent to Washington to oversee federal dollars being spent. But it's emblematic of the way Democrats have governed in this state. They like to posture, they like to tell people how compassionate they are. They tell us our high taxes are helping people, but they really haven't demonstrated a concern for helping people. They're more interested in just spending."
Fox News Digital has extensively reported in recent weeks on the Minnesota fraud scandal, including concerns that the fear of being called "racist" helped provide cover for the fraud, which primarily occurred within the state’s Somali community.
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"The Somali voting block is significant in the Minneapolis area, of course, and they're concerned about that," Hann told Fox News Digital. "And yes, I've seen those reports as well, that there were concerns about how this would appear. Most of the fraud was conducted by Somalis who put up these shell companies and looted the public treasury and I think the Democrats were concerned that if they went after that, they would appear to be picking on the Somali community when, in fact, they needed to enforce the law."
"I think every community wants to see the laws enforced and people in Minnesota want to see laws enforced. And this is why this is so terrible. They are just failing to do the duty that they were elected to do."
The lieutenant governor, who has been in office since 2019, is challenging two other Democratic candidates in the Senate primary race to fill the seat of outgoing Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Former Democratic presidential candidate and current Sen. Amy Klobuchar serves as the other senator from the state.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Flanagan spokesperson Alexandra Fetissoff said the focus should be on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants in Minnesota.
"While the Lt. Governor was showing her support for small businesses and communities being terrorized by ICE, she was handed a scarf by a friend and briefly wore it out of respect," Fetissoff said. "The real outrage should not be a scarf, but masked men throwing American citizens into vans and violating the constitution."
Flanagan’s team also clarified that while many on social media have claimed she said Somalis "built" Minnesota, "she does not say that in the video."
Last week, Fox News Digital first reported on legislation introduced by GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks named after Tim Walz that is aimed at addressing future fraud like what has occurred in Minnesota and could total as much as $9 billion, according to federal prosecutors.
If elected to the Senate, Hann told Fox News Digital he would push for more "safeguards."
"But I think we should also be looking at, how can we reform the whole welfare establishment?" Hann explained.
"Are there better ways to help people? We should be more concerned about trying to make sure people's lives are improved, rather than just spending money. It seems to me that the Waltz administration has been focused on just handing out money, Democrats in Washington just hand out the money and no accountability and no attempt to figure out the effectiveness of the programs that we have, we need to take a hard look at that."
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.