What exact words did Ilhan Omar allegedly use about Somalia and in what context?
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Executive summary
Multiple news outlets report that video and reporting show Rep. Ilhan Omar made comments in January 2024 in Somali asserting she would oppose foreign interference in Somalia — including a line translated as “While I am in Congress, no one will take Somalia’s sea, and the U.S. government won’t support others to rob us” — and that conservatives and social-media users have framed those remarks as pledging to “safeguard Somalia’s interests” from within the U.S. government [1] [2]. Contemporary coverage also records repeated, harsher attacks by President Trump calling Somalis “garbage,” saying Somalia “stinks,” and urging Omar be “thrown out,” which have amplified the controversy [3] [4].
1. What Omar reportedly said — the direct lines in reporting
News outlets that reviewed a clip and translations report Omar spoke in Somali at a Minneapolis event in January 2024, saying, in context of regional disputes, that “While I am in Congress, no one will take Somalia’s sea, and the U.S. government won’t support others to rob us. Don't stress over it, Minnesotans,” language cited by Fox News summarizing the resurfaced video [1]. Newsweek noted parts of the Minneapolis speech were circulated and that the outlet sought to verify translations; a conservative poster claimed Omar said she is “Somalian first, Muslim second” though Newsweek said it was attempting to verify the translation [2].
2. How the remarks have been framed by critics
Right-leaning sites and commentators have framed Omar’s Somali-language remarks as evidence she pledged to “safeguard Somalia’s interest from within the U.S. government” or as endorsing Somali territorial claims, with headlines and opinion pieces alleging she urged “liberation” of “occupied territories” or talking about naval bases and land “stolen” by Ethiopia and Kenya [1] [5]. Those outlets use the resurfaced clip to question whether her loyalties align with U.S. interests [1] [5].
3. Omar’s defenders and verification limits
Mainstream outlets covering the controversy (Newsweek, NPR) note efforts to verify translations and context: Newsweek said it was attempting to verify the translation and contacted Omar’s office for comment [2]. NPR provided broader background on Omar’s biography and the Twin Cities Somali community while reporting on her response to attacks, but available sources do not provide a full, independently published verbatim transcript of the original Somali remarks [6] [7]. Therefore, exact, complete quoted wording beyond the lines cited by Fox News and conservative outlets is not present in the provided reporting [1] [2].
4. Why context matters: language, audience and timing
Reporting indicates the remarks were made in Somali to a Minneapolis audience in 2024 amid debate over Somaliland, regional naval arrangements, and diaspora politics; those local and linguistic contexts affect how statements translate into U.S. political discourse [1] [2]. Newsweek’s attempt to verify the translation signals that small differences in phrasing or emphasis in Somali can produce very different English renderings; multiple outlets flag the need to confirm exact wording [2].
5. How opponents used the clip — escalation and political weaponization
Once the clip resurfaced, commentators and political figures amplified it as proof of divided loyalty or foreign entanglement, with high-profile amplification from Elon Musk (tweeted accusations reported by Fox) and conservative news sites treating the lines as disqualifying [1]. That resurfacing coincided with a broader pressure campaign against Somali communities in Minnesota tied to a fraud scandal; outlets report the clip was used in that wider narrative [8] [9] [4].
6. The administration’s counter-response and wider rhetoric
Separately, President Trump and allies have launched a sustained rhetorical attack on Omar and Somali immigrants, using phrases like “garbage,” saying “Somalia stinks,” calling Somalis “filthy, dirty, disgusting,” and urging Omar be “thrown out,” language reported by multiple outlets; those attacks have raised charges of xenophobia and have amplified attention to the resurfaced clip [3] [4] [9]. The political aim in those attacks appears to be to link Omar to broader stories about immigration and alleged fraud in Minnesota [9] [8].
7. What the record does and does not show
Available reporting supplies a short quoted English translation used by some outlets — e.g., the line about “no one will take Somalia’s sea” — and documents the political fallout and how opponents characterized the remarks [1] [2]. But the sources do not publish a complete, independently verified verbatim transcript of the original Somali remarks, nor do they fully resolve competing translations or provide Omar’s full contemporaneous remarks in English [2]. That gap leaves room for divergent interpretations and political amplification.
Bottom line: the most widely cited English rendering of Omar’s Somali-language line is that she vowed to defend Somalia’s coast and resources “while I am in Congress,” and that resurfaced clip has been seized on by critics to allege divided loyalty; mainstream outlets sought verification and documented the intense partisan response, including demeaning attacks from President Trump calling Somalis “garbage” [1] [2] [3].