MINNEAPOLIS — As Minnesotans endured weeks of brutal, chaotic federal immigration enforcement, Minneapolis Foundation CEO R.T. Rybak was a vocal and consistent cheerleader for everyone trying to protect their neighbors.

It was not a surprising role for Rybak, the three-term DFL mayor of Minneapolis who served from 2002 to 2014. He has long been an unwavering advocate for his hometown and its residents.

On Feb. 5, Rybak gave another social media pep talk to protesters but with a twist at the end. He closed by calling out Republican U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota‘s Sixth District, saying that Emmer alone could end the incursion by talking to President Donald Trump.

“If he simply said this is wrong,” Rybak wrote, and if Emmer “simply stood up for people he represents and [said] they should not be treated differently because of their state, this would end tomorrow.”

But that is not what Emmer did. By the time Rybak posted, Emmer, a lawyer, had been fueling the fire for weeks, spreading misinformation, fanning division and fear among residents, and vilifying the state leaders who were working night and day to keep the peace.

I’d like to ask Emmer how it is that he, as someone sworn to uphold the Constitution, could support the smothering, heavy-handed approach to immigration we saw here.

But Emmer didn’t have time for an interview, which wasn’t a surprise. Despite being in Congress since 2015, Emmer runs and hides from challenging and uncomfortable questions with mainstream news organizations.

Absent an interview, I turned to Emmer’s social media posts to understand his thinking these past few weeks. I’ll give him credit for consistency. He kept up a steady stream of invective to stir the boiling pot without regard for who was getting burned.

Since Renee Good was shot by a federal agent in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7, through the shooting of Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 and until the Trump administration’s announcement of the drawdown earlier this month, Emmer has blamed and trolled Democrats.

He did not raise concerns about the flood of ill-trained, trigger-happy federal agents on the streets or probe the false pretext behind Trump’s siege of this state.

On Jan. 12, Emmer verbally attacked Attorney General Keith Ellison as a “sorry excuse for an attorney general” because he had filed a lawsuit seeking to get the agents out of Minnesota and curb the siege.

The next day, Emmer roasted “so-called leaders, like Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Mayor Jacob Frey, [who] would rather go to war with the Trump administration than get criminal illegal aliens out of our communities and expose the fraud that’s been allowed to run rampant on their watch.”

In contrast, those leaders were begging Minnesotans to protest peacefully. Walz issued a direct plea to Trump on Jan. 15, asking the president to stop the retribution campaign.

In a hopeful sign, Walz spoke privately with Trump on Jan. 27. Emmer wasn’t ready to play anything close to nice. He went on Fox News the same day and falsely accused the governor and Frey of “fomenting all of this nasty rhetoric and frankly inviting these organized protesters and agitators into our state and causing all of this violence and destruction.”

Political posturing is one thing, but Emmer pushed it much too far by seeking arrests on fuzzy, bizarre allegations of illegalities that aren’t supported by facts. Emmer suggested that Walz not only should resign, a prospect the governor is not entertaining, but should leave office in handcuffs and that Ellison should be disbarred, kicked out of office and indicted.

At least Emmer didn’t pretend to be on a quest for the common good. He’s a bully who wants to divide, conquer and gain a personal political advantage for his side.

He wasn’t the only Republican to go along with the siege, but he was uniquely positioned to do something about it and chose not to, probably because he knows what happens when he doesn’t march in lockstep with Trump.

Recall that in summer 2023 Trump ended Emmer’s bid to become House speaker with a single social media post. Emmer since has become one of Trump’s biggest defenders and pals, catching a ride aboard Air Force One with his wife, Jacquie, in February 2025 to watch the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Emmer’s in a safe Republican seat. His fortunes may not rise, or potentially fall, with Trump, but it’s clear he’s willing to take whatever positions are necessary to stay in favor without regard to how they play in Minnesota.

Consider Emmer’s pettiness before the men’s U.S. Olympic hockey team gold medal game against Canada early Sunday. As Minnesotans settled in at their early-morning watch parties, Emmer proposed a deal to Canada: “We win, you become the 51st state. You win, we give you Timmie Walz.”

What a brave keyboard sportsman Emmer is, firing off cheap shots at a formerly friendly neighboring country and a sitting governor before puck drop.

And yet I was still willing to hope that it was all an act. I was willing to hope that Emmer was playing a public tough guy role, so I asked for an interview to talk about rumors that Emmer had been working behind the scenes with corporate leaders to urge Trump to relent on the siege of Minnesota.

But those rumors are “completely false,” according to Emmer’s spokeswoman.

Was Rybak’s proposition true? Could Emmer have single-handedly ended the siege by talking to Trump?

We can’t say for certain, but what we do know is that when Minnesota was down and needed his help, Emmer was focused only on his political future.

That’s a solid F in civic leadership, compassion and the U.S. Constitution as far as I’m concerned. But no matter to Emmer, I’m sure. He kept his back turned to Minnesota to maintain his A-plus grade with the president, the audience of one whose favor matters most to the congressman.

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