By Serdar Dincel
ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump paired a call for “peace on Earth” ahead of New Year’s celebrations with renewed claims of widespread fraud in Democratic-led states.
He was speaking to reporters as he arrived at a New Year’s Eve celebration at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, where he said the country was “back” and “strong” before shifting to claims of large-scale fraud that he said his administration would investigate and seek to recover the funds.
“They stole 18 billion dollars!”
"That’s just what we’re learning about. That’s peanuts," he said.
Trump claimed that similar fraud existed in other Democratic-led states, saying it gave him “a reason for a good new year” because his administration would “get that money back.”
“And California is worse. Illinois is worse. And sadly, New York is worse. A lot of other places.
"So we’re going to get to the bottom of all of it. It was a giant scam," he noted.
He also claimed that under his administration, the US is "doing great," telling reporters: “We’re back. We’re strong."
The Justice Department said Monday that it charged 98 individuals in a wide-ranging fraud investigation in Minnesota, with Attorney General Pam Bondi stating 85 are of Somali descent.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday that significant progress has been made investigating a "large-scale" fraud operation in Minnesota that administration officials claim exploited federal food aid programs for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Health and Human Services Department stopped all federal childcare funding to Minnesota on Tuesday following the allegations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had met with Trump days earlier to discuss the status of the Gaza ceasefire, was among the guests at the event.
Several Trump administration officials and allies attended as well, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Washington, DC, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.