Trump blasts Somali immigrants for second day: 'They've destroyed our country'

WASHINGTON, DC: For the second consecutive day, President Donald Trump criticized Somalia and Somali immigrants in the United States, claiming they have “destroyed Minnesota” and “our country.”

Trump’s renewed attention toward Minnesota follows media reports about the conviction of several people of Somali descent in Covid relief fraud schemes totaling more than $1 billion in the state, which is home to roughly 80,000 Somali-American residents.

Trump escalates attacks on Somali immigrants while calling Minnesota a ‘hellhole’

President Donald Trump on Wednesday, December 3, intensified his anti-immigrant rhetoric by describing Minnesota as “a hellhole right now.”

He continued, “The Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain.” His renewed focus on the state’s Somali population came as his administration began an immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis–St Paul area.

A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation was not specifically targeting immigrants from Somalia, though it may have led to the arrest of some individuals alleged to have violated immigration laws.

Trump criticizes Rep Ilhan Omar 

Speaking to reporters after an Oval Office event, President Donald Trump ramped up his criticism of Somali-born Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Wednesday, saying, “She shouldn’t be allowed to be a congresswoman, and I’m sure people are looking at that. She should be thrown the hell out of our country.”

He continued his attack on the congresswoman, who fled Somalia’s civil war, lived in a Kenyan refugee camp, and arrived in the United States at age 12, stating, “She’s always talking about the Constitution. Go back to your own country and figure out your own constitution.”

The president’s Wednesday diatribe came shortly after Representative Omar posted a statement on X responding to similar remarks Trump made the day before. “My message to Trump: Your message of bigotry won’t work. Somali Americans are here to stay,” she wrote.

Trump slams Mayor Jacob Frey and calls Somalia the ‘worst country on earth’

The president’s latest criticism came shortly after learning that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, said he was “proud” to have a large Somali population in his city, just days after Trump had criticized Somalis during a Cabinet meeting.

Trump called the mayor “a fool” and added, “I wouldn’t be proud.” He then shifted to broader disparagement, saying, “Look at their nation. Look how bad their nation, it’s not even a nation. It’s just people walking around killing each other,” later adding that “Somalia is considered by many to be the worst country on Earth,” and concluding, “what the Somalian people have done to Minnesota is not even believable.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump also called Omar “garbage” and said he didn’t want Somalis in the United States. “Somebody will say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason,” he said.