Trump Calls Omar and Somalis Garbage in Cabinet Meeting

President Donald Trump unleashed a series of inflammatory remarks against Somali immigrants and Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar during a Cabinet meeting in Washington on Tuesday, calling them "garbage" and urging that they be sent back to their home country. The comments, made amid discussions on immigration and fraud allegations in Minnesota, drew immediate rebuke from Omar and local leaders, highlighting ongoing tensions over the state's large Somali community.

Trump's outburst focused on Omar, a Democrat and one of the first Muslim women elected to the U.S. House, whom he described as incompetent and a complainer who badmouths the country. "Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage," Trump said, according to attendees and recordings of the meeting. He extended the criticism to the broader Somali diaspora, stating, "We can go one way or the other, and we're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country." Trump added that Somalis "contribute nothing," come from a country that "stinks" and is "no good for a reason," and do "nothing but complain" after fleeing hardship. He suggested they return to Somalia to fix it, saying, "Let...