By Phillip C Parrish, Candidate for Governor of Minnesota 2026
August 17, 2025
As a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander with 21 years in intelligence and counter-terrorism, a farmer, educator, and the original whistleblower on Minnesota’s daycare fraud scandals, I’ve dedicated my life to serving with integrity and exposing corruption. Today, as I campaign for Governor in 2026, I see our state and nation gripped by forces that thrive on division, lies, and exploitation. In an era where division is weaponized for power, it’s crucial we arm ourselves with truth to dismantle the lies that breed hate and harm. The radical left—figures like Tim Walz, Gavin Newsom, Adam Schiff, along with outlets such as MSNBC and The New York Times, and certain social media influencers—relentlessly peddle the “threat to democracy” narrative, painting conservatives and leaders like Donald Trump as existential dangers. Yet, the real peril to our democratic ideals stems from a small cabal of tyrannical ideologues who spread lies and propaganda with impunity. These actors are lawless and exploitative, eroding the foundations of trust in our institutions.
Remember, true democracy cannot exist without our Constitutional Republic and the unwavering rule of law. Our framers designed this system precisely to shield all citizens from tyranny—whether imposed by a misguided majority or a manipulative minority. Nationally, we’ve seen this play out in the recent Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on August 15, 2025, aimed at brokering peace in Ukraine. President Trump described the talks as making “great progress,” yet no concrete deal was reached, with discussions focusing on economic ties and a potential land-for-peace framework. In response, this seditious minority has unleashed a barrage of misinformation: deepfakes purporting to show Trump conceding U.S. interests to Russia, hyperbolic claims of him “aligning” with Putin to undermine NATO allies, innuendos about secret deals based on leaked documents left in a hotel printer, and outright fabricated stories designed to inflame emotions. This mirrors broader patterns seen in recent U.S. politics, where AI-generated deepfakes have polluted discourse, as evidenced by the FBI’s May 2025 warning about evolving misinformation campaigns co-opting voices and videos to deceive voters. Such tactics exploit the emotionally vulnerable and the uninformed, sowing discord that the propagandists and globalist elites knowingly amplify, fully aware of the societal harm and division they cause.
We’ve seen this playbook before. In early 2025, media outlets amplified fears of “authoritarianism” under Trump, with scholars and experts citing his executive actions as a “direct threat to democracy” by testing presidential limits. Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint, was relentlessly smeared as a blueprint for dismantling checks and balances, despite its focus on reforming bureaucracy—yet critics framed it as enabling an “imperial presidency” that endangers civil liberties. These narratives aren’t organic; they’re orchestrated to divide, often blending real concerns with exaggeration to stoke fear and hatred.
This national pattern of deception hits home right here in Minnesota, where decades of one-party DFL rule under leaders like Tim Walz have led to rampant fraud, exploitation, and a profound intellectual and moral bankruptcy that’s devastating our children, families, and communities. As the original daycare fraud whistleblower back in 2018, I exposed how corrupt actors were siphoning millions from programs meant to support vulnerable families, turning child care into a scam factory. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Under Walz’s watch, the Feeding Our Future scandal exploded into the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation, with over $250 million stolen from federal child nutrition programs intended to feed hungry kids. Despite warnings, his administration’s lax oversight allowed fraudsters to exploit the system, leading to guilty verdicts in March 2025 trials and ongoing subpoenas from Congress probing the failures. Walz has proposed anti-fraud measures, like a $39 million plan in March 2025, but these come too late after years of mismanagement that turned Minnesota into the “Land of 10,000 Scams.”
This exploitation extends beyond finances into intellectual and moral decay. Families are buckling under nation-leading child care costs, with many unable to afford basic services while programs meant to help are riddled with abuse. Child welfare systems are strained, with overrepresentation of certain communities in foster care and inadequate protections against exploitation. Policies pushed by the left have eroded family values, introducing divisive ideologies into schools that confuse our children and undermine parental rights, contributing to a moral bankruptcy where truth is sacrificed for political gain. Communities are fracturing as crime rises and trust erodes, all while media and elites ignore whistleblowers like me who dare to speak out.
This is why a shift in mindset is so critical to Minnesota’s recovery. For too long, we’ve allowed propagandists to divide us with lies, exploiting the uninformed and emotionally vulnerable. To heal, we must reclaim our agency: Conduct your own research, analysis, and discernment. Reject the echo chambers of pundits, paid actors, agitators, and biased media who profit from outrage. Instead, seek information directly from primary sources—listen to Donald Trump himself on his policies and intentions, review insights from trusted figures like Pam Bondi on legal integrity, Kash Patel on national security, Pete Hegseth on cultural issues, and even Vladimir Putin’s own statements on global affairs to understand the full context without filters. Discern and judge for yourself based on facts, not manipulated soundbites.
In Minnesota, this shift means seeing through the DFL’s facade and uniting to end the fraud that’s bankrupted our state morally and financially. As your Governor, I’ll prioritize servant leadership: rooting out corruption in child care and nutrition programs, lowering costs for families, protecting children from exploitation, and restoring moral clarity in education and policy. By embracing unity through truth, we can rebuild stronger communities where families thrive, children are safe, and exploitation is a thing of the past. Join me in this fight—visit parrish4mn.com to learn more and get involved. Together, we’ll revive the North Star State.
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