Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has forcefully dismissed renewed claims by President Donald Trump suggesting she should “go back” to Somalia, calling the remarks false, illogical, and deeply disrespectful to both her citizenship and the office she holds as a member of the U.S. Congress.
In a resurfaced video published on social media by journalist Don Lemon, Omar reacts to Trump’s assertion that he had spoken to Somalia’s leadership about sending her back.
Omar flatly rejects the claim, describing it as ironic and untrue, particularly given Trump’s past statements questioning whether Somalia even has a legitimate head of state.
“I know the president of Somalia,” Omar says in the clip. “And he wouldn’t say anything like that.” She adds that the idea itself is absurd, noting that she is a naturalized American citizen, elected by constituents in Minnesota, not a stateless individual subject to deportation at a foreign government’s discretion.
Omar’s response underscores a broader point about constitutional rights and democratic legitimacy.
“Why in the world would he take me back?” she asks. “I’m a citizen of the United States. I’m a member of Congress.”
She further notes that it would be inappropriate—and diplomatically offensive—for any foreign leader to suggest reclaiming an elected U.S. lawmaker.
Trump’s repeated “go back” remarks, first made during his earlier presidency and echoed in later political discourse, have long been criticized by civil rights groups as racially charged language aimed at delegitimizing elected officials of immigrant background.
Omar, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia and became a citizen in 2000, has frequently been a target of such rhetoric.
By centering her response on facts, citizenship, and constitutional order, Omar framed the comments not just as personal attacks but as challenges to democratic norms—where elected office, not ethnicity or origin, defines who belongs in American political life.
