Quote of the Day

[Trump’s verbal attack] was hurtful. It was shameful, disgraceful. But also, it was flat out wrong calling not only our [Minnesota] congresswoman [Ilhan Omar] “garbage,” but calling the entire [Somali] community “garbage,” saying they’re good for nothing.

It is a community that has been resilient, that has produced so much. We are teachers and doctors and lawyers and even politicians taking part in every part of Minnesota’s economy and the nation’s economy. And so, right now, this is nothing more than political theatre in time for the midterms, by which Trump wants to rally his base.

Language matters, and we know that hateful rhetoric and language leads to action. And right now, our community is afraid. We’ve seen that our president and ICE have overstepped and have consistently violated our residents’ consitution right. And what I mean by that is it’s going far beyond just immigration enforcement. We’ve seen residents, U.S. citizens, getting detained.

. . . President Trump made it very clear he wants all Somalis gone. Not just a category of them, not just the ones he thinks are bad, but all Somalis. I’ve heard from our young people – folks that were born in America, that have never seen Somalia; in fact, some whose parents were born in America – reaching out to us saying that they’re fearful, that they feel like they have to walk around with their passports because they don’t want to be targeted. And in America in 2025, that should not be happening.

– Omar Fateh
via social media
December 4, 2025

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Photo of the Day
– December 5, 2025

Related Off-site Links:
Trump Calls Somali Community “Garbage”: Minnesota Responds to Racist Rant and Immigration Sweep – Democracy Now! (December 5, 2025).
Anxiety Grips Minneapolis’s Somali Community as Immigration Agents Zero In on the Twin Cities – Rob Kuznia (CNN, December 4, 2025).
When a President Calls a Black Congresswoman “Garbage,” That’s Genocidal Language – Stacey Patton (Dr. Stacey Patton, December 3, 2025).
Trump’s Bigoted Attack on Somalis Denounced From Minneapolis to D.C. to Mogadishu – Brad Reed (Common Dreams, December 4, 2025).
Minnesota Lawmakers React to Trump Comments About Somali Immigrants, ICE Confirms Arrests – MPR News (December 4, 2025).
“We Are Here”: In St. Cloud, Somali Community Pushes Back Against Trump’s “Garbage” Comments – Kirsti Marohn (MPR News, December 4, 2025).
Trump’s Current Tirade Targeting Somali Minnesotans Should Come as No Surprise – Jennifer Brooks (Minnesota Star Tribune, December 3, 2025).
“Making America White Again”: Trump Further Restricts Immigration, Ramps Up ICE Raids – Democracy Now! (December 4, 2025).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Protesting Trump’s “Dystopian” Immigration Policies
• Derek Johnson on the “Courage to Call Fascism by Its Name”
• An Incident That Feels “Ripped from a Dystopian Novel”
• James Greenberg: “I Am in Mourning for America”
• “If a Praying Minister Isn’t Safe, None of Us Are”


For The Wild Reed’s coverage of Omar Fateh’s 2025 run for Minneapolis Mayor, see the following chronologically-ordered posts:
• A “Racist and Factless Meltdown” Over Omar Fateh
• Omar | Jazz | DeWayne
• In His Efforts to “Build a City That Works for All,” Omar Fateh Secures a Key Endorsement
• Something to Think About – July 25, 2025
• The Longstanding Fault Lines Within the Democratic Party Have Surfaced Again in Minnesota
• Omar Fateh: “We Need to Meet the Needs of Working People”
• “Hopeful and Grounded”: Omar Fateh’s Vision of Democratic Socialism
• Omar Fateh: A “Person-Centered Leader”
• Why Omar Fateh Is the Right Choice for Mayor of Minneapolis
• Omar Fateh on LGBTQ Issues
• Omar Fateh’s Grassroots Campaign for Mayor of Minneapolis
• The Rise of Omar Fateh
• Omar Fateh: A Mayor Who Will “Meet the Moment”
• Why Omar Fateh Lost
• Thank you, Omar!