“Poisonous racism”: Trump ripped by Minnesota Democrats for “disgusting” tirade against Somalis

President Donald Trump is facing stern criticism from Democrats in Minnesota for his comments condemning Somali immigrants, many of whom live in the North Star State.

Trump railed against Somalis on Tuesday, referring to them as “garbage” and saying he doesn’t “want them in our country.”

“These are people that do nothing but complain,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting at the White House. “When they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it,” Trump said.

The xenophobic tirade drew immediate pushback from Minnesota politicians, where roughly 80,000 Somalis reside, the majority living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

“Minneapolis is proud to be home to the largest Somali community in the country,” Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said on X. “They are our neighbors, our friends, and our family — and they are welcome in our city. Nothing Donald Trump does will ever change that.”

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Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, slammed Trump’s words as “poisonous racism” and a “disgraceful attack on Minnesota’s Somali community.”

“Hearing him single out our people based solely on their race and country of origin is downright disgusting,” Ellison said in a statement.

Donald Trump’s disgraceful attacks on Minnesota’s Somali community are injecting more of his poisonous racism into our beloved home state. Hearing him single out our people based solely on their race and country of origin is downright disgusting. pic.twitter.com/eKpWtfd8fo

— Attorney General Keith Ellison (@AGEllison) December 2, 2025

Trump also called out Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who is Somali, calling her “garbage.” Omar, who became a U.S. citizen in 2000 at age 17, is the first Somali American in the United States Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota.

“She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people who work. These aren’t people who say, ‘Let’s go, come on, let’s make this place great,” Trump said.

Omar did not think much of his comments. “His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs,” Omar wrote on X.