On Wednesday, January 21, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and then the day before at the White House, on the first anniversary of his return to power, US President Donald Trump continued his verbal attacks against Somalia and the Somali community living in the United States. He also targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democratic member of Congress of Somali origin, who has become a recurring target of the Republican.

Donald Trump has launched another attack. This time, the American president targeted Somalia, describing Somali immigrants as having "low IQs," stating that "Somalia is not a country," or, if it is, "the worst in the world," adding that it has "no government, no institutions."

The president also criticized Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota and member of the far-left "Squad" in the House, regarding her multimillion dollar net worth during a White House press conference Tuesday afternoon. Calling her "dishonest," "corrupt," and someone who has "never worked a day in her life," Ilhan Omar has been the target of a veritable vendetta by the American president. On several occasions, he urged her to "go back to Somalia," called her "scum," hurled insults at her, and more broadly targeted Somalis and Somali Americans, whom he believes should "go back where they came from."

A symbolic figure of the opposition to Trump

The attacks have been so repeated that Ilhan Omar recently described the president's attitude towards her as a "disturbing obsession." The 43-year-old congresswoman embodies, in Donald Trump's eyes, everything he politically opposes: a woman, a Muslim, an immigrant, and of African descent.

Ilhan Omar has repeatedly responded to presidential attacks, denouncing a "racist, xenophobic, and hateful" policy. She has notably opposed visa restrictions and defended the Somali community, which has a large presence in Minnesota, where she is an elected official, and which has been the target of attacks she describes as "disgusting, unjust, and dehumanizing."

Born in Mogadishu, Ilhan Omar arrived in the United States at the age of 12 with her family, settling in Minnesota. She became an American citizen as a teenager, before being elected to Congress in 2018 – one of the first two Muslim women elected – where she defends distinctly progressive positions.

The United States terminates the legal status of more than 500,000 foreigners and orders them to leave the country.

A rhetoric that was already radical by the end of 2025

This is not the first time Donald Trump has publicly attacked Somalia. On January 13, the US government announced the elimination of the status protecting Somali immigrants from deportation. This decision is part of a broader campaign waged by President Donald Trump's administration against the Somali community—the largest in the United States, numbering 80,000—which is particularly targeted in the state of Minnesota.

In December 2025, he had already announced his intention to "permanently suspend immigration from all third-world countries," stating that he no longer wanted to welcome, in his words, "waste into our country."

Alongside this hardening of migration policies, the Trump administration intensified its military involvement in Somalia. Since returning to power, more than 125 airstrikes have been carried out there, a number exceeding the combined total of bombings conducted under the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. These strikes primarily target the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab, which has been waging an insurgency against the Somali state for over twenty years.