Trump says Somalis are 'only good at pirating ships' in fiery White House rant

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump slammed Somalia and Somali immigrants in the United States during the White House event on Tuesday, January 20, marking his first year back in office.

He called the African nation “probably the worst in the world” and claimed its only skill is "pirating ships." He also made inflammatory remarks about Somali immigrants in the US.

Trump claims 'Somalia is not even a country'

President Donald Trump joined the White House briefing on the first anniversary of his inauguration, speaking for over an hour about his administration’s immigration, economic, and foreign policies. During the session, he repeatedly criticized Somali immigrants. "Somalia is not even a country," he said.

He added, "They don't have anything that resembles a country. And if it is a country, it's considered just about the worst in the world."

Trump also called Somalia a "terrible place" and disparaged Somalis. "That's about the only thing they're good at, is they're good at pirating ships at sea, big ships," he added.

Trump declares he hates to see 'Ilhan Omar'

Trump continued his fiery speech by targeting Rep Ilhan Omar, who is of Somali descent, and Somali immigrants more broadly, calling them "a lot of very low IQ people."

He added, "19B at a minimum is missing in Minnesota, given to a large degree to Somalians! They've taken it. Can you imagine? They buy Mercedes, and never had money."

He said, "It’s not a country. They don’t have government, they don’t have anything. I always hate to see this Ilhan Omar — she comes from Somalia, a backward country, probably the worst country."

Trump further claimed, "They say it’s the worst country in the world, if it’s a country, I don’t even think it’s a country. There’s no organization, no anything. They don’t have police, they don’t have military, they don’t have anything. They just have people running around killing each other and trying to pirate ships."

Somalia has been ranked by several watchdog groups as one of the world’s most dysfunctional countries, including a 2023 report from Transparency International, which listed it as the most corrupt country in the world.

Trump declares he does not want Somalis in US

This isn’t the first time Trump has criticized Somalis. In December 2025, he declared that he does not want Somalis to move to the US, claiming they are "ripping off" and “contribute nothing.”

"I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” Trump said at the time.

During his remarks, delivered at the end of an hour-long televised cabinet meeting, Trump stated: "I don't want them in our country. I'll be honest with you, OK. Somebody will say, 'Oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care. I don't want them in our country."

He also criticized Somalia itself, saying: "With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have no, they have no anything. They just run around killing each other. There's no structure."

Trump then turned his attention to Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat and the first Somali-American elected to Congress, with whom he has clashed repeatedly over the years. "I always watch her," Trump said, adding that Omar "hates everybody. And I think she's an incompetent person."