President Donald Trump unloaded on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) during a White House appearance, declaring that the Somalia-born congresswoman “should be thrown out of the country.” Trump accused Omar of corruption and tied his attack to broader complaints about fraud and the voting system in Minnesota. He also repeated his allegation that Omar married her brother.
Trump made the remarks in the Oval Office on June 11th after signing a proclamation intended to restore commercial fishing access in parts of the Pacific Ocean. The president had been answering a reporter’s question about listening to fishermen, farmers, and other Americans when setting policy. He contrasted those workers with people he called “complainers” before abruptly turning to Minnesota, its Somali population, and Omar.
“These people built the country, not the complainers,” Trump began. “The complainers didn’t build the country. These people built the country. Whether it’s fishermen or farmers or anything else, guys like me, they built the country.” He then shifted to Minnesota, saying, “Look at what’s happened in Minnesota: Somalia. All these people came in from Somalia. They ripped off our system.”
Minnesota has been rocked by the Feeding Our Future case, a $250 million scheme that exploited a federal child-nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Justice Department said in July that 68 defendants had been convicted. Prosecutors said participants submitted false meal claims through nonprofits and shell companies, taking money intended to feed children and using the proceeds for personal enrichment.
The president targeted Omar personally, saying, “You have the woman who married her brother. She came in, married her brother. Isn’t that wonderful?” Trump repeated an allegation he has made against Omar before. “And she talks about the Constitution of the United States. She comes from Somalia.”
Trump continued by offering a terse description of Omar’s native country. “They don’t have constitutions in Somalia. They don’t have police,” he said. “All they have is people that run around shooting each other, and then she comes and tells us how to run our country.” He added, “I don’t like it. These people don’t like it, I can tell you. I think I can speak for you.”
The president named Omar and delivered the central point of his message. “She comes in, Ilhan Omar. She comes in. She tells us how to run the United States of America,” Trump said. “And she says, ‘The Constitution of the United States protects me.’ She shouldn’t be protected. Honestly, she should be thrown out of the country.” Trump continued, “She’s corrupt, and most of the people that came in are corrupt.”
"*" indicates required fields
Watch Trump’s remarks here:
Trump widened his criticism to Minnesota’s elections. “The whole voting system is corrupt in Minnesota,” he declared. “I won Minnesota three times, easily. I won almost every county, but they didn’t give it to me.” Minnesota’s official election records show that Trump carried most of the state’s counties but lost the statewide vote in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
The president finished by directing his fire at Minnesota’s Democratic leadership, including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison. Reporters moved to questions about defense spending, Senate votes, and election legislation. “It’s a corrupt system, very corrupt state,” he said. “The governor is terrible. The attorney general is terrible. They’re all very corrupt people.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.