Former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, once told a crowd of frustrated residents to “find another state” if they weren’t happy with Minnesota.
The comments were made during an October 2015 forum in St. Cloud hosted by the local chapter of the NAACP. Dayton was responding to concerns some residents had about the large number of refugees settling in the area.
“Minnesota is not like it was 30, 50 years ago. But this is Minnesota and you have every right to be here. And anybody who cannot accept your right to be here and that this is Minnesota should find another state,” Dayton said, calling the behavior of some St. Cloud residents “unacceptable, un-Minnesotan, illegal and immoral.”
“If you are that intolerant, if you are that much of a racist or a bigot, then find another state,” he continued. “Find a state where the minority population is one percent or whatever. It’s not that in Minnesota. It’s not going to be again. It’s not going to be that in St. Cloud, or Rochester or Worthington.”
Video of Dayton’s comments were circulating in conservative Twitter circles Tuesday in response to the mainstream media’s coverage of President Donald Trump. As was widely reported, Trump faced renewed allegations of racism after he said that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) should return to Somalia if she isn’t happy with America.
Remember when the #MainStreamMedia went wild and couldn't believe that MN Gov Mark Dayton told the citizens of #MN to leave the state if they didn't LOVE MN?
Yeah, me neither. #StoptheBias
Thanks @education4libs reminding me about this clip. pic.twitter.com/CawfIOodb1
— Chris Berg (@chrisbergpov) July 23, 2019
On Tuesday, Omar once again accused Trump of being a racist.
“Right now, even when we’re talking about the president, people will say, you know, his remarks are racist, and we’ll forget the inherent racism that has always been part of him,” she said.
Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning that he “almost won Minnesota” in 2016 and will win the state in 2020 “because of America hating anti-Semite Rep. Omar.”
In 2016 I almost won Minnesota. In 2020, because of America hating anti-Semite Rep. Omar, & the fact that Minnesota is having its best economic year ever, I will win the State! “We are going to be a nightmare to the President,” she say. No, AOC Plus 3 are a Nightmare for America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2019
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Mark Dayton Comments” by Chris Berg.
