President Donald Trump launched a barrage of racist rhetoric against Somalis during a long-winded rant in the White House press room on Tuesday.
Trump, 79, spoke for over an hour at a press conference to mark the first anniversary of his second term in office, patting himself on the back as he listed his “accomplishments” in office from a “picture book.”
During his tirade, he shifted focus from commending himself to denigrating Somalis, an ethnic group he has called for mass arrests of over alleged fraud.
“I’ve halted all refugee admissions to the United States, including from Somalia, which is a terrible, terrible place,” the president said. ”And we also stopped the pirates because they get the same treatment as the drug boats.”
“Somalians, you know what they’re good at?” Trump continued. “The only thing they’re good at is, they’re good at pirating ships at sea. Big ships.”
Somali Americans, particularly in Minnesota, have been the target of Republican indignation after MAGA content creator Nick Shirley posted a video in December alleging fraud among the state’s Somali-run daycare centers.
The president called the African country “a really corrupt place” before singling out an outspoken Democratic adversary of his in Congress, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia but moved to America after fleeing the country’s civil war as a child.
“It’s not a country; they don’t have a government, they don’t have anything,” Trump said. “Ilhan Omar. She comes from Somalia: a backward country, probably the worst country. 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. 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 ship,” he added.
Trump then scrunched his face and spoke about Omar, whom he has called a “fake” congresswoman who should be “sent back to Somalia,” before adding that he “can’t stand her.”
Omar has been a Trump target since his first presidential term, but her criticism of the administration and ICE since the New Year has brought her back into Trump’s crosshairs.
Throughout his second term, the president has repeatedly insulted the Minnesota congresswoman and pushed conspiracy theories about her family.
“Is this really what Minnesota wants?” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “The crooked Governor and ‘Congresswoman’ Omar, who married her brother, don’t mind because it keeps the focus of attention off the 18 Billion Dollar, Plus, FRAUD, that has taken place in the State! Don’t worry, we’re on it!”
The Daily Beast has contacted Omar’s office for comment.
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