Has Rep. Ilhan Omar publicly confirmed or denied saying, 'When Somalia calls, I answer first. America is just the paycheck'?

1. What the available coverage actually documents about Omar and Somalia

Reporting in these results shows Rep. Omar speaking publicly about Somali identity, defending Somali-Americans in Minnesota, and criticizing Trump’s attacks — for example, she said Somalis “have always seen themselves as a fabric of this nation” and urged protections for Somali TPS recipients ^{[1] [2]}. Omar’s official House site and local reporting frame her as an advocate for refugees and immigrant rights and recount her biography as a Somali-born refugee who became a U.S. citizen ^{[3] [2]}.

2. Where the precise quote appears (and doesn’t)

Search results include partisan and hyperpartisan outlets repeating incendiary claims or short clips about Omar, but none of the provided items contain the literal sentence “When Somalia calls, I answer first. America is just the paycheck.” Those exact words are not present in the supplied snippets; therefore the precise attribution is not supported by these sources (not found in current reporting) ^{[4] [5] [6]}.

3. Misinformation ecosystem and politically motivated framing

Several provided items come from far-right or partisan sites whose framing consistently seeks to portray Omar as disloyal or “other” — e.g., headlines like “SOMALIA IS SUPERIOR TO THE UNITED STATES” and attacks around “go back to Somalia” rhetoric ^{[5] [7]}. These outlets often use provocative headlines, clipped video segments, or unverified translations; Minnesota Reformer explicitly documented prior false or faulty translations being used against Omar ^[8]. The presence of such outlets in your search results suggests a high risk that snippets or paraphrases could be reorganized into false or exaggerated quotes ^{[5] [8]}.

4. Repeated political attacks and context for contested lines

President Trump and allied outlets have repeatedly taunted Omar with “go back to Somalia” and criticized her Somali roots; Trump’s messaging and some conservative outlets amplify or reinterpret her remarks to question her allegiance ^{[7] [9] [10]}. Omar and supporters respond by emphasizing constitutional rights, TPS protections, and her immigrant backstory — a political pattern that makes short, out‑of‑context quotes easy to weaponize ^{[3] [11] [2]}.

5. Prior translation disputes and why that matters here

Minnesota Reformer documented a prior episode where Republicans amplified a faulty translation that suggested Omar said “Somalians first, Muslims second,” but independent translations did not support that wording ^[8]. That episode demonstrates how translation errors, selective editing, or paraphrasing can lead to persistent misattributions — a relevant caution when evaluating a dramatic-sounding sentence like the one you asked about ^[8].

6. How to verify the quote beyond these sources

The supplied materials point to primary places to check: Omar’s official communications (her House press releases and social posts), full videos of the events referenced by hyperpartisan outlets, and reputable local outlets that cover her speeches ^{[3] [2]}. The documents here do not include such a primary source with that exact phrasing, so confirmation would require locating an original video or a mainstream outlet that documents the quote verbatim (not found in current reporting) ^[1].

7. Bottom line and recommended next steps

Bottom line: with the provided reporting, you cannot verify that Rep. Ilhan Omar said “When Somalia calls, I answer first. America is just the paycheck.” The material shows heated partisan framing, prior translation controversies, and numerous paraphrases — but not that exact sentence (not found in current reporting) ^{[8] [1]}. To settle this, request the original event video or an authoritative transcript (Omar’s office, C-SPAN/local news footage, or a mainstream outlet transcript) and compare the full context before accepting or repeating the line ^{[3] [2]}.