A Trump official on Wednesday struggled to defend the Trump administration's racist attack on Somalis.
CNN anchor John Berman asked Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, "Exactly how much of the Somali American community in Minnesota, an estimated 40,000 of whom were born in Somalia, could be considered garbage," The New Republic reported.
Berman was referring to President Donald Trump's rant Tuesday in which he claimed that Somali-American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and her entire community are "garbage."
“John, we’re really looking at the data, the analyses here, particularly out of Minneapolis, and other parts of the country where we’re seeing Somalia, there’s widespread fraud, particularly marriage fraud when it comes to immigration, we’re looking at criminality here,” McLaughlin said.
Berman pressed and asked the same question.
“My question is, all of them? The president says he doesn’t want them here. He called them ‘garbage.’ Do you consider that to be all of the 40,000 people born in Somalia now living in Minnesota?” Berman asked.
“John, this is not about politics; this is about public safety,” McLaughlin said.
“That’s what the precipice of this was. That’s why we have to get back to base camp and make sure we are prioritizing the American people’s safety,” McLaughlin said.
She then tried to criticize the Biden administration.
McLaughlin was attempting to connect the attack in Washington, D.C. last week by a suspected Afghan national that left two National Guard members shot, including one who died, to the Somalian community in another state and had nothing to do with the shooting.
McLaughlin apparently wanted "to justify an immigration crackdown on Somalis in Minnesota, 58 percent of whom were born in the U.S., with 87 percent of those born overseas being naturalized U.S. citizens, according to Census data. But she’s only following the president’s racist lead, and he was inspired by a story full of holes originating from right-wing media," The New Republic reported.
BERMAN: How many of the 40,000 people born in Somalia living in Minnesota do you consider to be garbage?
McLAUGHLIN: We're really looking at the data
BERMAN: All of them?
McLAUGHLIN: This is not about politics. This is about public safety. We saw the terrorist attack against… pic.twitter.com/Tyce74f3yU
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 3, 2025