Africa-Press. U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his verbal attacks on Somalia and the Somali community residing in the United States during his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, just one day after making similar remarks at the White House, coinciding with the first anniversary of his return to power.
In his statements, Trump directly targeted Somalia, describing Somali immigrants as “low-intelligence” and questioning the very existence of the Somali state, saying, “Somalia is not a country, and if it were, it would be the worst in the world,” adding that it “has no government and no institutions.”
The U.S. president also launched a new attack against Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, representative of Minnesota in the House of Representatives, accusing her of corruption and dishonesty, and stirring controversy over her personal wealth, which he claimed amounts to millions of dollars. These remarks came during a press conference held by Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
Ilhan Omar, an American of Somali origin, is a recurring target of attacks by the U.S. president and Republicans. Trump has repeatedly told her to “go back to Somalia,” using insulting language, and has extended his attacks to Somalis and Somali Americans, claiming that they “should go back to where they came from.”
As one of the most prominent political opposition figures to Trump, these repeated attacks have led Ilhan Omar to describe the president’s stance toward her as a “troubling obsession.” At 43, Omar represents, in Trump’s view, everything he politically opposes: a woman, a Muslim, an immigrant, and of African descent.
Omar has repeatedly responded to the president’s remarks, denouncing what she describes as a “racist, xenophobic, and hate-filled” policy. She has strongly opposed tighter immigration policies and visa restrictions and defended the Somali community, which is heavily concentrated in Minnesota, stating that these attacks are “disgusting, unjust, and humiliating.”
Ilhan Omar was born in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, and moved to the United States with her family at age twelve, settling in Minnesota. She obtained U.S. citizenship during her teenage years before being elected to Congress in 2018, becoming one of the first Muslim women to win a seat in the House of Representatives, while adopting clearly progressive political positions.
These remarks come as the United States has announced the termination of the legal status of more than 500,000 foreigners, ordering them to leave the country as part of a tightening of immigration policies.
This is not the first time Trump has publicly attacked Somalia. On January 13, the U.S. government announced the cancellation of protections for Somali immigrants from deportation, a move seen as part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration against the largest Somali community in the U.S., estimated at around 80,000 people, mainly concentrated in Minnesota.
In December 2025, Trump had also announced his intention to “permanently suspend immigration from all Third World countries,” saying he no longer wanted to admit those “who do not deserve to be in our country,” in his words.
Alongside the tightening of immigration policies, the Trump administration has intensified its military intervention in Somalia. Since returning to power, over 125 U.S. airstrikes have been carried out in the country, exceeding the total number of strikes conducted under the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden combined. These military operations primarily target the Al-Shabab movement, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, which has waged an armed insurgency against the Somali state for over twenty years.
