Trump Amplifies Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric, Calling Somali Americans “Garbage”
President Trump escalated his long-standing anti-immigrant rhetoric this week, repeatedly denigrating Somali Americans and signaling a further departure from focusing solely on the removal of those in the U.S. illegally. The remarks, delivered during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, drew widespread condemnation and reignited debates over the core tenets of American identity and belonging.
During the two-hour session, Trump stated five times that he did not want Somali Americans – a community of roughly 260,000 people in the United States – in the country, urging them to “go back to where they came from and fix it.” He went further, labeling Somali Americans and Representative Ilhan Omar, a frequent critic, as “garbage,” a sentiment echoed by applause from assembled Cabinet members, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The outburst is not isolated, but rather a continuation of a pattern of increasingly hostile language toward immigrants that began during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He previously characterized Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and referred to nations in Africa as “s—-hole countries,” drawing parallels to rhetoric historically employed by Adolf Hitler.
“What he has done is brought this type of language more into the everyday conversation, more into the main,” explained Carl Bon Tempo, a history professor at the State University of New York at Albany. “He’s, in a way, legitimated this type of language that, for many Americans for a long time, was seen as outside the bounds.”
The president’s rhetoric taps into a long-simmering strain of nativism within the United States, a sentiment that has historically targeted various immigrant groups. From anti-Chinese sentiment in the late 19th century to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the nation has a complex history of both welcoming and excluding newcomers. Trump’s policies – including attempts to end birthright citizenship, freeze the asylum system, and drastically reduce refugee admissions – reflect a broader effort to limit immigration.
Recent polling data indicates that while immigration remains a key issue for Trump’s base, his approval ratings on the issue have slightly declined. An AP-NORC poll from November revealed that 42% of adults approved of his handling of immigration, down from approximately 50% in March. Despite this, Trump continues to pursue a hardline agenda, exemplified by a recent immigration sweep in New Orleans.
Analysis of presidential communications reveals that Trump employs more negative rhetoric regarding immigration than his predecessors and even many members of his own party. A study examining 200,000 speeches and communications between 1880 and 2020 found that Trump is “the first president in modern American history to express sentiment toward immigration that is more negative than the average member of his own party.”
The impact of Trump’s words extends beyond domestic politics. Ibrahim Hassan Hajji, a resident of Somalia’s capital city, told the Associated Press that the president’s comments had fundamentally altered his perception of the United States. “My view of the U.S. and living there has changed dramatically,” he said, adding that he no longer plans to travel to the country. Representative Omar herself described Trump’s “obsession” with her and Somali-Americans as “creepy and unhealthy,” vowing not to be intimidated or scapegoated.
Experts suggest Trump’s influence stems from his willingness to push boundaries and embrace xenophobia. “Trump specializes in pushing the boundaries of what others have done before,” said César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, a civil rights law professor at Ohio State University. “He is far from the first politician to embrace race-baiting xenophobia. But as president of the United States, he has more impact than most.”
The ripple effects of Trump’s rhetoric are being felt internationally. In Britain, attitudes toward migrants have hardened since Brexit, fueled by similar anti-immigrant sentiment. In France, while the National Rally party has softened its language, the foundation of its political appeal remains rooted in anti-immigrant messaging. Notably, French law grants heads of state immunity from prosecution for hate speech, a privilege that does not exist in many other countries. A Paris lawyer, Arié Alimi, expressed concern that Trump’s words could embolden other world leaders to engage in similar rhetoric.
Despite the potential for international repercussions and domestic division, Trump remains unconcerned with criticism of his polarizing language. “I hear somebody say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct,’” he stated, concluding his remarks on Tuesday. “I don’t care. I don’t want them.”
___Contributing to this report are Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Linley Sanders in Washington, John Leicester in Paris, Jill Lawless in London, Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, and Omar Faruk in Mogadishu.
