Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., appears onstage during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington on Sept. 27.
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Cliff Owen/AP
President Trump continued verbal attacks on Minnesota’s Somali community on Wednesday. During a tirade while discussing alleged fraud in Minnesota’s social services systems, Trump called immigrants from Somalia “garbage” and said “they’ve destroyed our country.” He also talked about deporting Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who represents the largest Somali American population in the U.S.
Omar, who immigrated to the U.S. at age 12 and is now a U.S. citizen, joined Morning Edition to discuss the president’s remarks. She called Trump’s rant “vile” and said it was no surprise because he has “trafficked in racism, in xenophobia, in bigotry, in Islamophobia for as long as he has held office.”
Hear her full conversation with NPR’s Michel Martin by hitting the blue play button above.
The radio version of this story was edited by HJ Mai and produced by Julie Depenbrock. The digital text was written by Obed Manuel and edited by Suzanne Nuyen.