(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Donald Trump joked Thursday about sending Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., back to her native Somalia. But there was a problem: Somalia didn’t want her back.
Trump made the quip while answering questions from reporters during the signing of executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office.
“You know, I met the head of Somalia. Did you know that?” Trump told a reporter. “And I suggested that maybe he’d like to take her back.”
“And he didn’t want. He said, ‘I don’t want her,’” Trump joked, prompting laughter from cabinet members including Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
.@POTUS: "[@RepJasmine] is a Low IQ person who I can't even believe is a congressperson — between her and @Ilhan. You know, I met the head of Somalia. I suggested that maybe he'd like to take her back. He said, 'I don't want her.'"
🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/JHrmSO5UMS
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 25, 2025
Omar appeared to take offense, taking to X, calling Trump a “lying buffoon” for his remarks.
“From denying Somalia had a president to making up a story, President Trump is a lying buffoon. No one should take this embarrassing fool seriously,” she wrote.
It’s unclear what Omar meant by accusing Trump of denying Somalia had a president. In an interview with former CNN anchor–turned–TikToker Don Lemon, she elaborated further.
“The irony of him, like, saying he spoke to the head of Somalia, when he continuously says Somalia does not have a leader, is kind of actually hilarious,” she said, laughing. “Then if anybody knows the head of Somalia, they know that … what the president said cannot be true.”
When Lemon asked whether that was funny, Omar replied, “Yes!”
Asked “why?” she added, “Because I know the president of Somalia, and he wouldn’t say anything like that. But also, I mean, why in the world would he take me back? I’m not like some stateless person. I’m a citizen of the United States. I’m a member of Congress, right?”
@donlemon Ilhan Omar with a response to Trump…
Trump’s comments come amid widespread criticism of Omar after she launched an apparent media tour to smear Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative activist killed Sept. 10, allegedly by Tyler Robinson, an unhinged individual reportedly fueled by Kirk’s “hatred.”
