(This story contains language that some readers may find offensive)
By Bianca Flowers, James Oliphant, David Hood-Nuño and Joseph Ax
WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – During a closed-door White House meeting in his first term, President Donald Trump demanded to know why the United States was accepting immigrants from “shithole countries” such as Haiti and some African nations, remarks widely reported at the time by Reuters and other media outlets.
Outrage followed. Lawmakers, including some Republicans, condemned the language as offensive. Even Trump sought to do damage control, denying in a social media post that he had used those words.
On Tuesday, during a televised cabinet meeting, Trump reacted to reports of government fraud among pockets of Minnesota’s large Somali population by calling immigrants there “garbage” and saying he wanted them sent “back to where they came from.”
This time, Republican members of Congress remained quiet. Vice President JD Vance pounded the table in agreement, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized Trump’s remarks as “amazing” and “an epic moment.”
The response underscored how Trump’s racial views are no longer considered out of bounds among some of his allies and supporters. Civil rights lawyers and researchers say his comments have become increasingly bold, normalized and politically permissible.
“Racism is no longer a dog whistle in America. We are dehumanizing and targeting people,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, a group that pushes for better voter access for marginalized and predominantly Black communities.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement that President Trump is right to highlight the problems caused by “Somali radical migrants”.
“While the media is understandably outraged, Americans who have suffered because of these schemes will celebrate the president’s comments and strong support for American citizens,” Jackson said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that his agency is investigating allegations that Minnesota tax dollars have been diverted to the Al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia.
Trump has a long history of racist rhetoric, particularly against immigrants of color. He has thrust himself into national politics by advancing the false conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama, a Democrat, was not born in the United States.
Critics say that, as president, Trump has implemented policies that mirror his rhetoric, particularly his immigration crackdown.
On Wednesday, Trump doubled down on his comments, telling reporters in the Oval Office that Somalia “is considered by many to be the worst country in the world” and accused Somali immigrants of “destroying the country.”
Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and several other Democrats in Congress called his comments “xenophobic and unacceptable” in a statement and warned that militant groups like the Islamic State could use them to stir up anti-American sentiment abroad.
RHETORIC SCALES
Alvin Tillery, a political science professor at Northwestern University, said Trump’s use of the presidential bully pulpit as a platform for racist commentary is “absolutely unique” in the modern era and goes beyond the rhetoric of previous Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who were often criticized for making what many saw as thinly veiled racial appeals.
“They’ve never come close to this kind of hateful rhetoric directed at communities of color or minority groups,” Tillery said. “It’s very dangerous.”
In many ways, Trump’s immigration policies echo his political statements. He blocked virtually all new refugees, except for white South Africans who he falsely claims are the targets of “white genocide.”
Masked federal officers have used aggressive tactics in immigration sweeps across the country and have been criticized for detaining people who simply look Latino or speak Spanish.
In recent days, Trump has escalated his rhetoric and restrictions on immigration after the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC The suspected shooter, an Afghan citizen who came to the United States under a program for Afghans who helped American forces during the war in their country, pleaded not guilty to murder and other crimes.
In response, the White House announced that it was suspending immigration applications from 19 non-European countries.
Immigration remains one of Trump’s strongest issues, although the Reuters/Ipsos poll shows his net approval rating on the subject has gone from plus-7 in January to minus-10 in mid-November. Still, analysts say it gives him leverage at a time when broader support for his policies is waning.
“It’s easy to pick on immigrants and say they’re the reason for all these problems,” said Melik Abdul, a Republican strategist and political commentator who supports Trump.
LANGUAGE CARRIES RISKS
Historians say there is a risk for people of color when the authorities use racist rhetoric. In October, deleted political group chats revealed racist, anti-Semitic and violent rhetoric among young Republican leaders, raising concerns that hate speech has become normalized in American politics.
Trump’s comments on Tuesday alarmed the sizable Somali American community in Minnesota, amid news reports of possible federal immigration raids there. There were 76,000 people of Somali descent living in Minnesota in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau; more than half were born in the United States.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, told Reuters that many members of the community – including some who voted for Trump last year – now fear for their safety, far beyond concerns about immigration enforcement.
Last year, after Trump suggested during a nationally televised presidential debate that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating household pets, threats to that community increased, businesses closed and many legal Haitian residents left the city.
Trump also attacked Minnesota US Representative Ilhan Omar, who came to the United States as a Somali refugee as a child and is a naturalized citizen. On Tuesday he called her “rubbish” as well, and on Wednesday he said that “she should be thrown the hell out of our country.”
“The president has always had bigoted, xenophobic, very Islamophobic comments when it comes to people who are of the Muslim faith or people who are Black,” Omar told Reuters on Wednesday. “We’ve seen him call African nations a shithole, so it’s not really surprising.”
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers, James Oliphant and David Hood-Nuno; Additional reporting by JC Whittington and Andy Sullivan; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Craig Timberg, Kat Stafford and Diane Craft)