What exact statement did Ilhan Omar reportedly make about Somalia and America on March 14, 2023?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
Available reporting shows controversy over a remark attributed to Rep. Ilhan Omar in early 2024–2025 about prioritizing Somalia over the United States; investigators and multiple outlets say the phrase circulating online—“When Somalia calls, I answer first. America is just the paycheck” or “Somali first / Somalia first”—comes from a disputed recording and translations of a January 27, 2024, Minneapolis speech and a March 14, 2023, recorded call circulating online [1] [2] [3]. Reporting establishes that a mistranslation and clipped edits fueled outrage; independent translation work and Omar’s public statements contradict the viral framing [2] [3].
1. What was reported: the viral quote that sparked outrage
Widely circulated social posts and some media claimed Omar said words like “When Somalia calls, I answer first. America is just the paycheck,” or that she declared she was “Somali first” — a quote tied to a recorded call dated March 14, 2023, in a social media post and to a January 27, 2024, hotel speech clip [1] [2]. Newsweek and other outlets documented the spread of the purported comments and consequent backlash from figures in Somaliland and U.S. politicians [3].
2. The recording and the date claims: what sources actually show
A social-media post explicitly labeled a recorded call from March 14, 2023, bearing the phrase “When Somalia calls, I answer first. America is just the paycheck” [1]. Separately, coverage of a January 27, 2024, speech in Minneapolis—where a mistranslated clip suggested Omar said she was “Somalians first”—became the main focus of fact-checks and reporting [2]. Available sources do not provide a verified transcript of a March 14, 2023, conversation beyond the social post citation [1].
3. Independent translation and mistranslation: how context shifted the story
Investigations by outlets including The Guardian and the Minnesota Reformer worked with independent Somali translators and concluded the hotel-speech clip was mistranslated; the fuller context showed Omar saying something closer to “We are people who know that they are Somali and Muslim,” not an admission of dual loyalty [2]. That finding shows how clipped or poorly translated excerpts can create a dramatically different impression than full remarks [2].
4. Political amplification and consequences
Republicans and foreign officials amplified the snippets. House Republicans pushed censure and ethics inquiries, and Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister publicly protested the purported comments, calling them “regrettably unbecoming” and accusing Omar of reviving irredentist rhetoric—claims that fed calls for further scrutiny [4] [3]. The congressional record also contains language accusing Omar of acting to “advance Somalia’s interests,” reflecting how the controversy migrated into formal congressional responses [5].
5. Omar’s responses and related official communications
Omar’s congressional office has posted statements about Somalia on other occasions—on press freedom, TPS for Somalis, and meetings with Somalia’s ambassador—showing a pattern of engagement with Somali issues that critics cite as context for their concerns [6] [7] [8]. Newsweek reported Omar defended her comments amid backlash and noted Somaliland’s diplomatic objections [3]. Available sources do not quote Omar directly saying the exact March 14, 2023 phrasing in an independently verified transcript; instead, they report on viral claims and rebuttals [1] [2].
6. What we can and cannot confirm from available reporting
Confirmed: a social-media post attributes the “When Somalia calls, I answer first. America is just the paycheck” line to a March 14, 2023 recording [1]; separate mistranslated January 27, 2024 remarks were independently reviewed and corrected by translators and outlets such as The Guardian [2]. Not found in current reporting: a verified, authoritative transcript or multiple independent-media confirmations that Omar definitively uttered that exact March 14, 2023 sentence in a contemporaneous, verifiable source [1] [2].
7. Why the story matters: loyalty narratives and media mechanics
The incident demonstrates how nationalism and loyalty narratives—especially around a high-profile Somali American congresswoman—can be stoked by short clips, mistranslations, and social posts that bypass full context, then escalate into diplomatic protests and congressional actions [3] [4] [5]. Reporters and translators found competing interpretations; critics used the snippets to argue Omar prioritized Somalia, while translators and Omar’s defenders said the circulation rested on errors and selective editing [2] [3].
Limitations: reporting in the supplied sources does not include an authoritative, independently verified transcript of the March 14, 2023 recording beyond the single social-media post, and available sources focus heavily on the January 2024 speech mistranslation and ensuing fallout [1] [2]. Readers should treat the March 14 claim as reported and circulated online but not independently corroborated by the outlets cited here [1] [2].