Trump makes more inflammatory comments on Somali community in Minnesota

Elliot Hughes, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Oct 8, 2026

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President Donald Trump made another round of comments attacking Minnesota’s Somali community and Gov. Tim Walz on social media Thursday.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump broadly accused the immigrant community of violence and said the group was taking over Minnesota. He said Walz wants to get “out of town with as much as he can steal, and then, lead a quiet life.”

Trump then encouraged Minnesotans to “fight back” and said the federal government “will come to your rescue.” The Star Tribune has asked the White House for clarification on the remarks but has not heard back.

Trump’s post comes in the wake of several shooting incidents in recent days that law enforcement says involved Somali gangs, as well as federal charges against a young Somali man for allegedly plotting a terror attack at the Mall of America.

The comments were called “blatant racism and an implicit call for violence against an entire community” by the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The group called on law enforcement to immediately strengthen security around mosques, Somali American businesses and community centers.

“President Trump is placing a target on the backs of Somali Americans,” Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the CAIR chapter, said in a statement. “His words are not simply political rhetoric. They are a dangerous invitation to hatred and potentially violence.

“Somali Americans are not outsiders. They are Minnesotans. They deserve the same safety, dignity, and constitutional protections as every other American.”

In his own statement, Walz called Trump’s post “deranged.”

The post “can’t distract from the fact that he’s losing a war and driving up costs,” Walz said. “He’s lashing out at blue states because he can’t land a punch on America’s actual enemies.”

Trump and other Republican leaders have repeatedly been accused of making xenophobic and racist attacks against Muslim Americans. Trump has specifically singled out the Somali community in Minnesota numerous times, calling them “garbage” in December.

Members of the Muslim community in Minnesota have expressed fear for their safety in the last year. In May, community members tied the rhetoric to a disturbance at a mosque in Lakeville, days after three people were killed at a San Diego mosque.

Last year, Hussein said there had been more than 40 instances of vandalism, arson or other disturbances at mosques in the last three years, higher than any other state. Damages totaled more than $3 million, he said.

Hussein’s statement Thursday said Minnesota leads the nation in such incidents.