Are there verified audio or video sources confirming Ilhan Omar said the Somalia quote?

1. What the contemporary reporting documents: Trump’s on-record tirade

Multiple news organizations reported and published video or audio-backed coverage of President Trump’s December 2025 press remarks denigrating Somalia and singling out Somali immigrants and Rep. Ilhan Omar; those accounts reproduce his language and note the event was recorded and broadly circulated ^{[1] [5] [7]}. Outlets including NPR and Fox News framed the comments as an attack on Minnesota’s Somali community and described the remarks as audible in a public press setting ^{[2] [5]}.

2. Omar’s responses captured on audio/video in mainstream outlets

After the remarks, Rep. Ilhan Omar appeared on broadcast and cable programs and in on-the-record interviews responding to Trump, arguing his attacks were intended to deflect scrutiny from his record; NPR, CNN and Minnesota public radio ran those interviews and published audio/video segments or transcripts ^{[2] [3] [4]}. These are contemporary, sourced media appearances rather than second‑hand social posts.

3. The Somalia-quote attribution question: what sources show and what they do not

The search results show Trump’s quoted description of Somalia (“barely a country… run around killing each other”) and his attacks on Somali immigrants are directly reported ^{[1] [5]}. Available sources do not mention an independent, authenticated recording of Ilhan Omar saying the specific disputed line about being “Somalians first” in the December 2025 cycle; instead, they show Omar publicly responding to Trump and defending Somali communities ^{[2] [4] [3]}. The 2024 mistranslation controversy—where a clip of Omar was later shown by The Guardian to have been mistranslated and independent translators recast her words—shows prior problems with relying on clipped or mistranslated audio for claims about what she said ^[6].

4. The 2024 mistranslation: a cautionary precedent

Reporting from The Guardian documents a prior episode in which a 2024 video clip of Omar was misinterpreted or mistranslated; Minnesota Reformer and independent Somali translators told The Guardian she likely said “We are people who know that they are Somali and Muslim,” not that she declared herself “Somalian first,” showing how brief clips and translations can be misleading ^[6]. That episode is directly relevant because it demonstrates the need for authenticated full recordings and reliable translation before accepting viral attributions.

5. What mainstream outlets actually published — transcripts, video excerpts, and context

NPR and MPR carried audio or recorded interviews with Omar reacting to Trump’s comments; CNN posted video of her appearance on The Lead. Raw Story and Gateway Pundit published transcripts or excerpts of the exchanges and the broader political back-and-forth ^{[2] [4] [3] [1] [8]}. These items document the exchange around Trump’s remarks and Omar’s defenses, rather than a new standalone confession or the specific contested “Somali-first” quote in December 2025.

6. How to verify a contested quote going forward

Based on documented reporting practices in these sources, verify any specific Omar quotation by: (a) locating the original full‑length audio/video file from the event; (b) checking for professional transcripts or broadcaster recordings (NPR/CNN/MPR provide those for interviews cited here) ^{[2] [3] [4]}; and (c) if the quote occurs in Somali, seek independent translators as The Guardian relied upon in 2024 ^[6]. The present set of articles confirms Trump’s recorded tirade and Omar’s recorded responses but does not provide a contemporaneous, independently authenticated clip of Omar uttering a newly disputed Somalia-identification line in this December 2025 cycle ^{[1] [2] [6]}.

Limitations and competing perspectives: reporting outlets vary in tone and emphasis — NPR and MPR present the exchange with interview audio and context about the Somali community’s concerns ^{[2] [4]}; Fox News and Raw Story emphasize the political attack and local enforcement context ^{[5] [1]}; The Gateway Pundit republished a partisan framing focused on Omar’s emotional reaction ^[8]. Readers should prioritize primary audio/video and professional translations for final verification; the available reporting documents Trump’s on-record comments and Omar’s recorded rebuttals, and flags an earlier mistranslation that warns against trusting clipped attributions without corroboration ^{[1] [2] [6]}.