Washington (SD) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump has once again directed a verbal attack at Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and the nation of Somalia.

Trump, speaking at a rally yesterday, described Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as a ‘nasty woman’ who is constantly complaining. He asserted that she comes from “a country ranked among the worst in the world,” which he claimed has no military, police, or parliament.

President Trump also made remarks about her hijab, which he referred to as a ‘little hat,’ and called for her to be deported. The conflict between Ilhan Omar and President Trump has been ongoing for a considerable period, even during his previous term in office.

Trump’s attack is less about foreign policy and more about domestic political mobilization. Ilhan Omar represents a potent symbol for his base: a progressive, Muslim, immigrant, female lawmaker. By targeting her, Trump reinforces a narrative of “us vs. them,” appealing to nativist and nationalist sentiments. The focus on her hijab and origin is a deliberate tactic to otherize her and frame her as fundamentally un-American, energizing his core supporters.

The claim that Somalia lacks a military, police, or parliament is blatantly false but serves a strategic purpose. It reduces an entire nation to a caricature of failure, reinforcing a stereotype used to stigmatize Somali-Americans and justify exclusionary policies. This rhetoric is not an assessment of Somalia but a tool to undermine the legitimacy and belonging of a political opponent by association.

The Trump-Omar conflict is a sustained political spectacle. For Trump, it is a reliable source of media attention and rallying cries. For Omar and her progressive base, it solidifies her role as a resilient figure standing up to bigotry, likely strengthening her support within her district and among left-leaning donors. This dynamic exemplifies how political polarization can be mutually reinforcing for figures on opposite extremes.

While such rhetoric is unlikely to alter official U.S. foreign policy, it has tangible effects.

It inflames anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment, potentially endangering the safety and well-being of the large Somali diaspora in the U.S.

It creates an embarrassing and hostile environment for Somali diplomats and undermines the professionalism of the bilateral relationship.

This kind of language from a former U.S. president lends legitimacy to extremist narratives, both domestically and internationally, that paint the West as at war with Islam.

The attack exemplifies the erosion of diplomatic and political norms. Attacking a sitting member of Congress’s religious attire and national origin, and falsely disparaging a sovereign allied nation, moves political discourse from policy disagreement into the realm of personal denigration and nationalist demagoguery. It sets a precedent where such tactics are normalized in mainstream politics.

Trump’s comments are a calculated piece of domestic political warfare with international ripple effects. They are designed to galvanize his base through division, using Congresswoman Omar and Somalia as cultural and political foils. The attack reveals how U.S. domestic polarization can directly impact the dignity of other nations and their diasporas, demonstrating that in the modern media age, the line between domestic rally rhetoric and international insult is perilously thin.