Donald Trump has been accused of delivering his most openly racist public remarks since returning to the White House, launching a vitriolic attack on people of Somali heritage and labelling them "garbage" who contribute nothing to the United States.
Cabinet Meeting Explosion
The extraordinary outburst came at the conclusion of a two-hour cabinet meeting on 2nd December 2025. The President, reportedly increasingly enraged, claimed individuals from Somalia are overly reliant on welfare and stated bluntly, "I don't want them in our country." He dismissed concerns about political correctness, asserting, "Some would say that's politically incorrect, don't care."
Trump specifically targeted the Somali-heritage community in Minnesota, which is the largest in the nation yet constitutes only 1.7% of the state's population. Data indicates that approximately 95% of this community are US citizens, either by birth or through naturalisation.
Context and Wider Attacks
The president's comments followed an announcement by his administration to halt all asylum decisions. This policy shift came after the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington. Although the suspect is originally from Afghanistan, Trump has used the incident to question immigration from several nations, including Somalia.
In his rant, Trump declared, "They contribute nothing. The welfare is like 88% or something. They contribute nothing. I don't want them in our country." He added, "Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks and we don't want them in our country."
This incident represents an escalation in Trump's ongoing attacks on Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia. He has repeatedly used racist remarks and spread unfounded conspiracy theories about her to his vast online following.
'Tipping Point' Rhetoric
Employing starkly divisive language, the President warned, "Our country is at a tipping point. We could go one way or the other. We're gonna go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country."
He then directly targeted Rep. Omar, stating, "Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren't people that work. These aren't people who say come on, let's make this place great. These are people who do nothing but complain. And from where they came from, they got nothing."
The remarks have sparked immediate condemnation, being characterised as one of the most shockingly racist tirades of his presidency, deliberately vilifying a specific ethnic community and a sitting member of Congress.
