Opinion – When Will Trump's Sustained Jibes at Somalia End?

21 January 2026 - On Tuesday during a White House press briefing marking the first anniversary of his second term, President Donald Trump once again directed harsh remarks toward Somalia.

He described Somalia as “not even a country,” claiming it lacks anything resembling a functioning state. He insisted that if Somalia is a country, it is “just about the worst in the world.”

These statements were not isolated. They came alongside personal attacks on Somali-American Representative Ilhan Omar, whom he described as coming from a “backward country,” and remarks labeling Somali immigrants as “low IQ” and accusing them of widespread fraud. He also claimed that the U.S. military has been targeting Somali pirates with missiles as deadly as those used against drug traffickers.

For years, Trump has portrayed Somalia as a failed, ungovernable state. Yet this latest attack was more intense, more public, and more detailed than previous ones. The timing also raises suspicion. The remarks were made while the administration announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali nationals, effective March 17, 2026. This is not merely a policy shift; it is a message.

What is alarming is not only the attack itself, but the silence that followed. Somalia’s government has remained mostly quiet, failing to respond to what is now a repeated and public denigration. In the world of international politics, silence can be interpreted as weakness. In this case, it may be interpreted as agreement.

And if a powerful country like the United States can publicly demean Somalia without any diplomatic pushback, it raises a serious question: Is this just rhetoric, or is it a prelude to a larger plan?

The Pattern: Why Trump Keeps Returning to Somalia

Trump’s attacks on Somalia cannot be dismissed as mere personal opinions. They follow a recognizable pattern. He has repeatedly described Somalia as a failed state and used it as a symbol of disorder and collapse. This is not unique to Somalia, it is part of a broader political narrative that aims to categorize certain countries as hopeless, weak, and unworthy of sovereignty.

What is unusual this time is the intensity and the length of time he spent discussing Somalia. In most cases, Trump spends minimal time on foreign issues unless they serve his domestic political agenda.

However, his remarks about Somalia were long, detailed, and repeated across different contexts. This suggests that Somalia is not merely a random target; it is a deliberate symbol.

In the minds of many analysts, the repetition is strategic. A leader does not repeatedly target a country with public insults without expecting some future benefit.

By portraying Somalia as a failed state, Trump may be setting the stage for future actions that could range from political pressure to military involvement.