“THESE ARE ROUGH PEOPLE”: Trump Unleashes Visual Proof of “Criminal Invasion” in Minnesota, Blasts “Paid Insurrectionists” and “Crooked” Politicians
BEDMINSTER, NJ — The visual was striking, intended for maximum impact on the evening news and social media feeds alike. President Donald Trump, standing before a backdrop of American flags, did not just rely on rhetoric to make his point about the state of the nation. Instead, he brought props.
In his hands, he held a stack of placards—white boards featuring the mugshots and criminal records of individuals arrested in Minnesota. As he shuffled through them, tossing some onto the podium for emphasis, he narrated a grim story of a state under siege.
“These are just some of the more recent ones,” Trump declared, his voice grave. “Vicious. Many of them murderers. These are all out of Minnesota.”
In a press conference that oscillated between dark warnings about “imported crime” and fiery defenses of federal law enforcement, Trump painted a picture of a dystopian reality unfolding in the American Midwest. His message was clear: The chaos in Minneapolis is not a local issue; it is a national crisis fueled by “open border policies,” “paid insurrectionists,” and a political class that has lost control.
The “Rogues Gallery”
The centerpiece of Trump’s presentation was what can only be described as a “Rogues Gallery” of high-profile arrests. He used the physical evidence of the mugshots to counter the narrative that immigrants are solely seeking a better life.
“Do you want to live with these people?” he asked rhetorically, holding up a photo of a scowling man. “International murder. These are people that were… put in jails in their country from where they came. Or the countries respect us, and so they actually put them there.”
He described the individuals on the cards with visceral adjectives: “Rough characters,” “drug lords,” “mentally insane,” “brutal killers.”
The strategy was simple but effective. By focusing on individual cases—men with “24 convictions,” gang members known as “the toughest around”—he sought to humanize the fear that many voters feel regarding rising crime rates. He argued that these individuals were not here by accident but were the direct result of the “dumbest policies” of the Biden administration.
“If you didn’t have open border policies of Biden, none of this… would have happened,” Trump asserted. “Most of them are coming from out of the country.”
Minnesota as “Ground Zero”
Throughout the briefing, Trump returned time and again to Minnesota. The state has become a focal point of his recent campaign rhetoric, serving as a case study for what he views as the failures of Democratic leadership.
He cited a staggering figure to illustrate the scale of the problem: 10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone.
“How can you have a state… with 10,000 criminals?” he asked. “And yet they’re fighting us.”
He painted the state not just as a victim of crime, but of financial pillaging. He brought up the issue of welfare fraud, specifically targeting the Somali community in a segment of the speech that is sure to ignite controversy.
“Nobody talks about the fact that $19 billion at a minimum is missing in Minnesota,” Trump claimed, linking the missing funds to “Somalians.”
His rhetoric regarding Somalia was particularly scorched-earth. “Somalia is not even a country,” he said. “They don’t have anything that resembles a country… they come here and they become rich.”
He directed specific ire at Representative Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of his criticism. “I was told that Ilhan Omar is worth $30 million. She never had a job. She’s a crooked congresswoman,” he alleged, accusing her and others of buying “Mercedes Benzes” with money they “never had.”
The “Paid Insurrectionist” Theory
Perhaps the most theatrical moment of the press conference came when Trump addressed the protests that have erupted in response to ICE operations. He dismissed the idea that these demonstrations are organic expressions of community anger. Instead, he labeled the protesters “paid agitators and insurrectionists.”
To prove his point, he shared an anecdote about a recent shooting incident involving a federal agent.
“When the woman was shot… there was another woman that was screaming ‘Shame, shame, shame,'” Trump recounted. He then mimicked the woman’s voice, pitching his own voice high and operatic. “She was so loud. Like a professional opera singer.”
He argued that her grief was performative. “She wasn’t a woman that was hurt… she was a professional. I said, ‘That’s not a normal person.'”
This “opera singer” theory serves a dual purpose for Trump. It delegitimizes the protesters, framing them as actors in a “travesty” orchestrated to hurt the country. And it creates a permission structure for his supporters to disregard the cries of “shame” coming from the streets, viewing them instead as the calculated noise of the enemy.
The Defense of the “Patriots”
In stark contrast to the “insane” criminals and “professional” agitators, Trump offered a full-throated defense of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents.
He framed their mission in simple, almost humanitarian terms: “All ICE wants to do is get them out of our country, bring them to prisons and jails and mental institutions from where they came. That’s all they want to do.”
He lashed out at media figures like Don Lemon—whom he called a “loser lightweight”—for criticizing these agents.
Interestingly, Trump leaned heavily into the demographic makeup of federal law enforcement to deflect accusations of racism. “The Border Patrol is largely Hispanic… like 60% Hispanic,” he noted. “And they’re unbelievable people.”
He praised the “entrepreneurial” spirit of the Hispanic community, claiming he “loves” them and citing his electoral success in Texas border counties as proof of a realignment. “They accuse us of all sorts of things… [but] 60% of the people we’re talking about, they’re the best people we have.”
A Shift on Venezuela?
In a surprising foreign policy twist, Trump touched on his relationship with Venezuela. While he accused the country of “emptying their prisons” into the United States, he also claimed to be “loving Venezuela now” because “they’ve been working with us so well.”
He hinted at behind-the-scenes diplomacy, mentioning an “unbelievably nice woman” named Maria whom he hopes to get involved, and noting that “oil companies are getting ready to make massive investments there.”
This transactional view of foreign relations—where a country is judged by its willingness to take back deportees and open its oil fields—was a classic Trumpian pivot. It suggests that his solution to the “criminal invasion” involves aggressive deal-making with the very nations these individuals are fleeing.
The “Stack”
Throughout the speech, Trump kept returning to the physical evidence in his hands. The stack of photos seemed endless.
“I could do thousands,” he bragged. “We had over 3,000 in the last fairly short [period]… just in Minnesota.”
He would pick up a card, read the charges—”Strong armed rape,” “Aggravated assault with a weapon,” “Relations with Hezbollah”—and shake his head in disgust.
“This is what the people are trying to protect,” he said, gesturing to the imaginary protesters.
Conclusion: The Narrative of Fear and Rescue
As the press conference wound down, the message resonated in the quiet room. Trump had successfully shifted the conversation from the complex socio-economic factors of migration to a binary choice between safety and danger.
On one side, he presented the “agitators,” the “crooked” politicians like Joe Biden and Ilhan Omar, and the “vicious” criminals lurking in the shadows. On the other side, he placed the “patriot” ICE agents, the Hispanic Border Patrol officers, and, implicitly, himself—the only one willing to “show you the pictures” that the media supposedly hides.
“In Switzerland, they don’t have this problem,” he mused at one point, looking forward to a trip abroad. But for the people of Minnesota, and the United States at large, the problem is here. And if Donald Trump has his way, the solution will be as rough and uncompromising as the men in the mugshots he held aloft.
The dam has broken on the rhetoric. The accusations are flying. And the visual evidence—whether you accept his interpretation of it or not—is now etched into the public record.
