On Dec. 2, during a cabinet meeting, Donald Trump spewed racist rhetoric calling Somali Americans and Ilhan Omar “garbage.” Members of his cabinet cheered and applauded, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth calling his statement “well said.” This is the disgusting and hateful language that shapes American politics. Trump has always used racist rhetoric to target groups in diaspora: first Mexicans, then Haitians, making the false claim that they were “eating dogs,” and now Somalis. He chooses whichever group he thinks will rile up his base the most.
On the topic of language, Trump has repeatedly called African countries “sh*tholes,” and to that, I say that if he would like to point fingers, he should start with none other than the land of the free: the United States of America itself, a nation that has played a major role in the destabilization of regions in Africa and throughout the East.
To understand Somalia’s current political state, it is necessary to examine its history. Mohamed Siad Barre served as Somalia’s president from Oct. 22, 1969, to Jan. 26, 1991. He came to power through a bloodless military coup that followed the assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Shermake. With this in mind, Barre’s presidency is complicated: some Somalis view him as a hero who modernized the country, while others see him as an authoritarian who destroyed it. In 1991, he was overthrown and forced into exile, which led to a complete political vacuum, causing an uproar. Suddenly, everyone wanted power: the military, clan-based rebel groups, warlords, everybody. What followed was chaos, and as usual, it was civilians who suffered the most.
However, what needs to be noted here is that this chaos did not come out of nowhere. In Somalia, like many African nations, the effects of colonialism still remain, starting with the splitting of ethnic groups. These colonial legacies helped create the conditions for conflict long before Barre ever took office. So before Trump calls Somalia, or any African country, a “sh*thole,” he should remember this: many of the problems African nations face today were created and worsened by the West. The irony is that the same country responsible for so much global harm now wants to mock the very places it helped destabilize.
During the civil war, after Barre was overthrown, Somalia fell into complete chaos. Hunger, famine, and mass displacement took over the country, and the effects are still there today. Many Somalis fled to Kenya, where refugee camps offered free food and basic healthcare, fulfilling a longing for resources that had simply no longer existed back home.
At the same time, the U.S. entered Somalia under the banner of international “peacekeeping efforts.” This was the mission that inspired the Surviving Black Hawk Down documentary, a film meant to humanize the American soldiers. The supposed U.S. objective was to capture lieutenants from a high-ranking militia, the Somali National Alliance. It opens with a statement from one of the former soldiers: “We are the good guys, we are the Americans, we would not be doing this if it were not right.” Meanwhile, Somalis who genuinely believed the U.S. was arriving to help end the humanitarian crisis were betrayed. President Bill Clinton negotiated a truce to secure the safe return of his soldiers, but the Somali civilians? They were left behind, the casualties totalled over 300, and many innocent lives were lost.
Trump says, “When they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but b*tch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.” This is ironic, coming from a president of a nation that intervened militarily, caused destruction, and directly contributed to the trauma Somalis fled from. So, in Surviving Black Hawk Down’s attempt to humanize the soldiers, the documentary exposed the cold, hard truth: this mission was not a peacekeeping operation. It was an invasion of a land that was not theirs, one that traumatized the people who were already suffering.
To which I ask: Why is it that the soldiers get humanized, but not the Somali people?
During the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing on Feb. 26, 2025, Gregg Roman, who serves as the Middle East Forum executive director, disclosed that U.S. foreign aid funds were used to support Somalia’s extremist group Al-Shabaab. So, I ask Donald Trump: Who is really responsible for destabilizing Somalia? The finger does not point at Somalis; it points at the United States of America.
The U.S. government destabilizes nations, then acts shocked when refugees flee from the wars it helped create. Yes, Minnesota has a large Somali population, but many of those families have lived there for over 30 years. They have deep roots and multiple generations who call the U.S. home.
These are families who have come to the United States in response to the massive upheavels in their home country, which the U.S. is frequently responsible for.
The absolute truth is: America sold the idea that this was the land where dreams come true. They have frequently pedestalized our country so that foreign citizens would come and boost our economy. Immigrants believed that lie. They believed that hard work would be enough. Now, imagine their disappointment when they arrived and realized that their dreams were out of reach, not because they did not try, but because of how they looked, where they came from, or the religion they practiced. Nevertheless, many pushed through, built lives, raised families, and made something of themselves in a country that was not always welcoming to them.
So, to Donald Trump: if you hate immigrants coming here, then maybe the solution is simple. Stop creating the conditions that force them to leave home in the first place.
