A Peggy Flanagan campaign ad attacking Republican Michele Tafoya in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race earned a "D" from KSTP's "Truth Test." The station found that most of the ad's claims were misleading or taken out of context.
The 30-second spot calls Tafoya a "Trump cheerleader" and claims she backed "his war with its crazy gas prices, his tariffs, his ICE force." KSTP found the ad also used altered video showing Tafoya wearing a fake Trump button.
On ICE, the ad cites Tafoya's Jan. 21 appearance on Fox News. KSTP's review found she "mostly criticized Gov. Tim Walz's response to ICE rather than backing ICE."
The ad also claims Tafoya is "thrilled" with "tax breaks for billionaires and huge health care cuts." KSTP found she never mentioned billionaires or health care cuts. She was praising tax relief on tips and overtime and the expanded child tax credit, saying, "I talked to people whose tax returns were better."
KSTP also found that Tafoya never pledged to back "all Trump's anti-abortion judges." Tafoya calls herself pro-choice, and she said she opposes taxpayer-funded abortion and supports conservative judges.
The fact-check found some truth in the ad. Tafoya did initially support the Iran war and said in 2025 that "tariffs seem to be working." She has since said the president needs to find a way to end the war.
Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor, has called for "ripping ICE apart."
Photo: Chad Davis / CC BY-SA 4.0
Never miss a story — join us on Telegram: https://t.me/profilopoliticsnews