Michael Tisserand from Alexandria

Michael Tisserand is a Minnesota-based writer whose works include "Krazy," a biography of cartoonist George Herriman, and Sugarcane Academy, a memoir of his family's experiences of Hurricane Katrina. With support from a Guggenheim Fellowship, he is currently writing a book about Charlie Chaplin and "The Great Dictator," for Oxford University Press.

2026-07-01

What Tom Emmer said about Somalis was racist.

What’s worse is he probably doesn’t believe it

"House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s constant attempts to appeal to MAGA and Donald Trump have required him to reject the tolerant views he once held.

"There was a time when President Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans didn’t think House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., had a sufficient understanding of who his enemies ought to be. But in remarks he made Wednesday at a Capitol Hill event sponsored by Ralph Reed’s Faith & Freedom Coalition, Emmer did his best to signal that Trump’s enemies are his enemies, too.

"Emmer’s 11-minute talk, during which he expressed racism and transphobia and railed against abortion, also served as yet another contrast to the memory of what Republicans in Minnesota used to be."

Read on at MS Now
Newsletter 2026-07-01