Mogadishu residents push back against Trump’s remarks : NPR
Vendors selling food and flotation devices wait for visitors at Lido Beach in Mogadishu, November 10, 2025.
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Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — This week, after saying he was cutting immigration from “third world countries” following the deadly attack on two National Guard members by an Afghan national, President Trump turned his anger on the Somalis, calling them “trash.”
He advised Somali Americans to return to the Horn of Africa country and “fix it,” calling it “hell.”
Somalia has been plagued by clan conflict for decades and is currently fighting the Islamist insurgent group. al-Shabab. The country descended into anarchy after the overthrow of the military regime of President Siad Barre in 1991. Over the next thirty years, millions of Somalis fled the country, ending up all over the world, including the United States.
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia, responded to Trump’s comments this week, calling them “vile.” She emphasized that Somali Americans make tremendous contributions to the United States and are “working to make our country better.”
Many Somalis at home also rejected Trump’s comments, saying they too were working to make their country better – despite danger, poverty and political mismanagement.
Somali fishing boats are seen at the old port and traditional lighthouse at Lido Beach on November 11, 2022 in Mogadishu, Somalia.
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Civil society fills the gaps left by the state
Dr. Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan is one of them. A dentist by profession, he created the country’s only free ambulance service, a lifeline in the capital Mogadishu, which regularly suffers terrorist attacks from Al-Shabab.
Adan said Trump’s comments showed he didn’t know much about Somalis.
“In every nation there are bad people, in every country, but not all. Somalis, I believe there are very good, generous people who help others,” he told NPR.
Adan and his team risk their lives to help people, often arriving at the scene of an attack minutes after an explosion and facing the possibility of a second detonation.
But it has to be done, he said.
“If we don’t do it, who will? We go, we do it, because every life has equal value… no one should die just because helping them isn’t safe.”
“The Somali people never give up”
This courageous dentist is not the only Somali filling the gaps left by the government and contributing to the well-being of the wider community.
The Elman Center for Peace and Human Rights, led by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Ilwad Elman, operates Somalia’s first rape crisis center. The organization also helps rehabilitate young people forced to join militias and runs educational programs. He even offers ocean therapy on the beach in Mogadishu for children who have survived violence and trauma.
Then there is the country first football team for amputeescreated by Abdiaziz Kediye, former Somali Premier League player. Many players lost their legs in the conflict, but found a new lease of life by being able to compete in the sport.
And a courageous group of women journalists, Media reviewbreak stereotypes and hold those in power to account in their women-only editorial team.
“There are a lot of positive things happening in Somalia. Our young people are starting new businesses, using technology and also making art and music. Somali women are becoming leaders,” said Bilan journalist Farhia Mohamed Hussein.
“We have a strong culture, full of hospitality, we have some challenges but people continue to build… Somalis never give up,” she added.
“We’re actually talking about a Somali population, both in Somalia and in the diaspora, who have made enormous contributions to their communities,” says Ahmed Soliman, a researcher on the Horn of Africa at the British think tank Chatham House.
Somalis shop at markets and bazaars that open early in the morning on the streets of the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2025.
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Ties between the United States and Somalia are strong, despite the rhetoric
Despite Trump’s comments, the US government actively supports Somalia.
“The United States has been engaged in Somalia for decades. It is an important bilateral partner, an important partner in helping the Somali federal government stabilize its security against the Islamist insurgency al-Shabab,” Soliman said.
US forces have trained the Somali army and regularly carry out drone strikes against Al-Shabab targets. Since the Trump administration took office this year, these strike rates have increased significantly, according to the liberal think tank New America, citing data from U.S. Africa Command.
Ilham Ali Gassar is a Somali representative in the East African Legislative Assembly and is considered an expert in governance and peacebuilding.
“Statements that demean Somalia or its people are deeply hurtful,” she said of Trump’s comments.
However, she noted: “For decades, our two nations have worked together… This deep partnership is far greater than any political movement or individual.”
Abdirahman Hussein contributed reporting from Mogadishu.
