Fact Check: Is Trump's claim Tim Walz was behind a cyberattack true?

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump repeated several familiar claims about the economy, immigration, and foreign policy during a July 31 Cabinet meeting. Without presenting evidence, he accused Minnesota Governor Tim Walz of being behind the recent cyberattacks targeting water systems in multiple states, escalating their ongoing political feud. Let's fact-check the claim.

Claim: Tim Walz is behind the cyberattacks targeting local water systems

During the Cabinet meeting, Trump addressed the recent cyberattacks targeting local water systems in multiple states.

Although investigators have not publicly identified those responsible, US and state officials have considered Iran among the possible suspects.

Rejecting that possibility, Trump said, "I think that Minnesota is behind it. You know who is behind it? Minnesota. Because they're grossly incompetent. I think the governor is behind it." He added, "I don't think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think that Minnesota ought to get its act together."

Minnesota authorities first disclosed the attacks publicly, reporting that hackers targeted about 30 water systems across the state.

Fact Check: False, Trump offered no evidence

The claim is false. Trump offered no evidence to support his allegation that Tim Walz was behind the recent cyberattacks targeting local water systems.

No federal agency, state official, or credible source has linked Walz or the state of Minnesota to the attacks. Investigators have not publicly identified those responsible, making Trump's accusation entirely unsupported.

The FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a joint statement on Thursday that, since Monday, water and wastewater utilities in at least seven states had reported cyber incidents to the FBI and that some of the activity had disrupted water operations.

Although the attacks affected multiple states, Trump singled out Minnesota and did not mention the governors of the other the six states that were affected.

Responding to Trump's remarks, a spokesperson for Walz referred CNN to a series of the governor's posts on X. On his personal account, Walz wrote, "Trump can't beat Iran because he's too busy waging war with Minnesota."

On his official account, he added, "Trump knows exactly who is responsible for this attack, and knows that other states were hit too. This is what modern warfare looks like, and it further illustrates there's no plan to win a war with Iran." 

Walz also criticized the administration's cybersecurity policies, writing, "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."

At the time of writing, no official investigation, law enforcement agency, intelligence agency, or credible news organization had produced evidence linking Walz to the cyberattacks. The available evidence does not support Trump's allegation, and authorities continue to investigate the incidents without publicly attributing them to the Minnesota governor.