Trump Targets Minnesota Somali Community and Attorney General Keith Ellison

The president’s comments, which characterized Somali immigrants as having "low IQs" and accused them of "robbing us blind," mark a continuation of his aggressive rhetoric toward the demographic. Trump previously drew widespread condemnation in December for referring to Somali immigrants as "garbage" and expressing a desire to exclude them from the United States entirely.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to statewide office in the U.S., rejected the president's characterization of his state. In a social media response, the attorney general argued that Trump fails to grasp the solidarity of Minnesotans. He further criticized the administration's economic policies, suggesting that the president’s focus on inflammatory rhetoric serves as a distraction from inflation and rising costs of living. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council condemned the remarks as "gutter racism," noting that such rhetoric arrives amid reports of increased scrutiny and potential due process concerns for Somali immigrants within the federal justice system.