What exactly did Ilhan Omar allegedly say about Somalia and where did the quote originate?
Executive summary
President Donald Trump called Somali immigrants “garbage” and said “Somalia … stinks and we don’t want them in our country,” and he explicitly named Representative Ilhan Omar in the tirade during a December 2 cabinet meeting [1] [2]. Video and reporting show Omar responded publicly — calling Trump’s fixation “creepy” and saying “I’m not going anywhere,” after being taunted about “packing bags for Somalia” by a journalist [3] [4].
1. What Trump said that triggered the exchange
During a December 2 cabinet meeting, Trump launched a broad attack on Somalia and Somali migrants, saying the country “stinks” and that “we don’t want them in our country,” and describing Representative Ilhan Omar as “garbage” [1]. Multiple outlets reported the same language and characterized the remarks as a lurid, xenophobic rant directed at Minnesota’s Somali community as well as at Omar personally [5] [6].
2. The exact Omar quote under scrutiny and where it appears
The phrasing being circulated about Omar is not a long foreign-policy statement but short, contemporaneous responses captured on video and social media: she told a reporter “I am not going anywhere” and said, in context, “I’ll be here longer than Trump,” while also calling Trump’s fixation “creepy” and saying she hoped he “gets the help he desperately needs” [3] [7] [4]. Those lines come from videos and tweets that have circulated since the cabinet meeting and were reported by outlets including The Indian Express and regional U.S. press [3] [4].
3. Where the “packing bags for Somalia” line originated
Journalists and social-media accounts confronted Omar after the president’s comments, asking whether she had “started packing her bags for Somalia.” That exact taunt appears to have been posed by a reporter on camera and then amplified by right-leaning accounts; footage and press reports record Omar answering that she was not leaving [3]. The viral incident stems from on-the-ground video and social posts rather than from a formal speech or floor remarks [3].
4. How different outlets framed the exchange
Mainstream outlets reported Trump’s cabinet tirade and placed Omar’s responses in context: The New York Times and NBC described Trump’s “stinks” and “garbage” lines and noted Omar’s public rebukes [1] [8]. Outlets ranging from Fox News to The Washington Post and The Guardian emphasized the racialized and anti-immigrant tenor of the remarks and covered Omar’s pushback, with some conservative platforms amplifying calls for her deportation or mocking her [9] [5] [6]. The diversity of coverage shows competing political framings: some outlets emphasize bigotry and threat to Somali communities; others highlight partisan attacks on a prominent critic of the administration [1] [5] [6].
5. Historical context and why the exchange matters
This episode is part of a longer pattern: Trump has repeatedly attacked Omar’s origins and suggested she should “go back” or that foreign leaders should “take her back,” and prior reporting documented past calls to remove her from the country [10]. Omar’s family came to the U.S. from Somalia after fleeing civil war; her biography and prior coverage note that background and her role as an advocate for refugees and Somali Americans [2]. The comments matter because they target a U.S. citizen lawmaker and an American immigrant community — a dynamic news outlets flagged as significant and inflammatory [1] [5].
6. Misinformation risks and what sources do not say
Available sources do not mention Omar making a public statement that she planned to return to Somalia or that she had ever said she fled “justice” in Somalia; those narrative variations appear in partisan and fringe outlets not corroborated by mainstream reporting [11]. The specific video exchanges reported show Omar denying she was leaving and insulting back at critics; they do not show her calling for or endorsing any violent ideology — claims about “terrorist sympathizer” or criminal family histories are raised by opponents but are not substantiated in the mainstream reports provided [12] [11].
7. Why verification matters for readers
The provenance of the quoted lines matters: Trump’s words were recorded and widely reported by major outlets, which is why phrases like “garbage” and “stinks” are reliably attributed to him [1] [8]. Omar’s retorts derive from on-camera confrontations and her social posts; those shorter, reactive lines are easy to clip and reframe online, which can strip context and create misleading narratives when reshared without sourcing [3] [4]. Readers should prefer full reporting and footage rather than isolated screenshots or partisan repeats.
Limitations: this analysis uses only the supplied reporting; it does not include additional video timestamps or primary transcripts beyond what those sources publish.