According to a report by Al Jazeera English on Wednesday 3 December, 2025, progressive congresswoman Ilhan Omar has pushed back sharply at US President Donald Trump after he once again took aim at her and unleashed a broad attack against Somali immigrants living in Minnesota.
The exchange came during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where Trump launched into a familiar – and unusually personal – tirade. At one point he described Omar and other Somali immigrants as “garbage,” a remark that immediately set off a wave of criticism and fresh outrage.
Omar, who has long been a target of Trump’s political jabs, responded online. She said his fixation with her was “creepy,” adding that he ought to get whatever help he needs. Her reaction came just hours after Trump’s comments spread widely across social media and cable news.
The president’s rhetoric has been growing harsher in recent weeks, coinciding with the fallout from the deadly shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, DC. The suspect, an Afghan man who arrived in the United States during the 2021 evacuation, has become the center of Trump’s push to clamp down on immigration from what he calls “third-world countries.” Somalia is frequently mentioned in these remarks.
And even though he insisted he doesn’t really know Omar, Trump claimed that he has seen her “complain” about the United States for years and dismissed her as incompetent. The overall message sounded much like his older attacks, which he used to energize supporters during previous campaigns.
Omar’s story, meanwhile, stands in stark contrast to Trump’s portrayal. She arrived in the United States as a child refugee after fleeing Somalia’s brutal civil war and eventually became the first Somali American elected to Congress. Her district in Minnesota is home to one of the largest Somali communities in the country – a community that has endured challenges but also achieved notable progress.
A 2021 report by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, for example, noted that Somali families who arrived with limited education and high poverty rates were seeing gradual improvements. Employment, income levels and educational attainment have all shifted in a more positive direction over the past two decades.
Still, Trump has continued to link Somali immigrants to broader complaints about crime and national security. After the National Guard shooting, he announced a sweeping suspension of migration from what he labels “third-world” nations and ordered a review of permanent residents from 19 countries. His critics say these moves are more about politics than policy.
Minnesota’s Somali community has been a frequent target for Trump before. During his first term, he included Somalia in the so-called Muslim ban, and in recent months he has repeatedly invoked a COVID-era welfare fraud scandal involving several defendants of Somali origin to argue that the community poses social risks.
Omar herself remains a recurring figure in his speeches. Years ago, he accused her and a handful of other women of colour in Congress of criticizing the United States too loudly, prompting him to urge them to “go back” to the places they came from – a comment widely condemned at the time.
Most recently, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation was launched in Minnesota, drawing concern from local advocates who say it overwhelmingly affects Somali neighborhoods. And over Thanksgiving weekend, Trump again stirred controversy by insulting Minnesota’s governor and suggesting that Somali gangs were “roving the streets.” He even mocked Omar’s hijab, implying she was constantly “wrapped” in it.
Progressive groups have responded forcefully. Justice Democrats blasted Trump’s attacks as racist and accused him of trying to distract from his administration’s shortcomings. They argued that stirring division, targeting minority communities and deploying ICE raids have become standard tactics for him whenever he faces scrutiny.
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