LEMON DROP | MAGA Influencer Nick Shirley & The Minneapolis ICE Disaster!

The Don Lemon Show

18Hundred LLC.

News, Society & Culture

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Don breaks down a recent podcast appearance by influencer Nick Shirley, the same creator whose viral video alleging child care fraud at Somali-run day care centers in Minnesota helped thrust the story into the national spotlight and ultimately contributed to an ICE surge in Minneapolis. Don examines how this kind of viral, unverified content can shape political narratives, influence policy, and even prompt federal action, regardless of whether the underlying claims have been substantiated. While Shirley’s video alleged widespread fraud and drew millions of views, state officials later found no clear evidence of fraud at many of the featured centers. In today’s rapid media cycle anyone can say anything, even without solid evidence, and have it spread like wildfire, often with real consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	To succeed in the future of work, forward thinkers use AI to deliver measurable results.
0:05.0	Workday is the AI platform for HR and finance that frees you from the mundane, so you can focus on more meaningful work.
0:12.0	Workday, moving business forever forward. Okay, so Nick Shirley, I don't know if you guys know the name, but you should.
0:33.8	You remember the whole, the thing that went viral, this video of this YouTuber or streamer or
0:40.3	influencer or whatever Nick Shirley is, going to daycares in Minnesota, right, and then saying,
0:47.3	oh my God, I uncovered fraud, all of this. Oh my God, this fraud, fraud, fraud. I don't
0:51.3	know if you guys remember that. And so it went viral. And every single, like,er, right wing news organization or whatever. He's uncovering fraud. He's uncovering no one has been talking about this. No one has been talking about this. So first, before I play to you what happened, play you what happened. Let me just show you a couple of the headlines. Okay. So this is from the New York Times. This is the New York Times from back in November.
1:13.3	Now, supposedly, this was over Christmas,
1:14.9	this is over the holidays, late December.
1:17.2	No one was covering fraud in Minnesota.
1:19.9	But this was from the 29th of November,
1:22.6	I believe, or the 28th of November from the New York Times,
1:24.9	how fraud swamp Minnesota's social services system
1:28.4	on Tim Wall's watch.
1:29.5	Okay, so they reported prosecutors say,
1:31.6	members of the Somali diaspora,
1:33.1	a group with the growing political power,
1:35.1	were largely responsible.
1:36.2	President Trump has drawn national attention
1:38.1	to the scandal amid his crackdown on immigration.
1:39.9	Okay, so it was reported on then.
1:43.4	It has been reported on before.
	...

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