President Donald Trump publicly dismissed concerns Friday that foreign actors were behind recent cyberattacks targeting municipal water facilities across Minnesota, placing the blame instead on state officials and Democratic Governor Tim Walz.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat, Trump rejected early assessments by federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies investigating whether Iranian-aligned hackers executed the digital intrusions.
“We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack and they blame it on Iran. I don’t think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent,” Trump told reporters. “There was a cyberattack of 30 water plants and I would blame it on Minnesota and the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota. They like to say, ‘Oh, it was Iran.’ Iran should be so lucky”.
The President’s comments contrast with ongoing investigations led by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Federal authorities issued warnings earlier in the week that cyber threat actors linked to Iran have actively targeted internet-connected programmable logic controllers (PLCs) at water and wastewater facilities nationwide.
According to Minnesota IT Services, more than 30 water management systems across the state were targeted in automated scans and breach attempts early in the week. While state technicians worked alongside municipal teams to isolate vulnerabilities, officials confirmed that local drinking water supplies remained safe and uncompromised. Similar suspicious cyber activity has impacted utilities in at least seven states.
Governor Tim Walz quickly pushed back on the President’s statements, pointing to federal vulnerability warnings and criticizing recent administration cuts to cybersecurity agencies.
“Trump knows exactly who is responsible for this attack, and knows that other states were hit too,” Walz said in a social media statement. “This is what modern warfare looks like… DOGE took an axe to CISA and left the U.S. exposed to cyber attacks. Thankfully, our experts in Minnesota were able to identify the vulnerability quickly and work with local communities to stop it”.
Federal investigators cautioned that while technical evidence continues to undergo analysis, formal attribution remains ongoing as investigators evaluate whether foreign adversaries directly executed the intrusion or sought to obscure their digital footprint.
