MOGADISHU, (HAN) – Somali Defense Minister, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi has voiced strong support for U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar after former U.S. President Donald Trump launched fresh attacks on her Somali heritage.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Fiqi wrote: “If our daughter is being targeted for her identity, I will stand firmly with her. As the Somali Defense Minister, I am making it clear that I stand with Ilhan.”
He described Omar as “a role model for society,” praising her for achieving success “without relying on anyone.” Mr. Fiqi added that critics had no right to “blame or insult Somalia because of where she was born.”
His remarks followed a speech in which Trump renewed calls for Omar’s impeachment and disparaged Somalia, days after a closely contested vote in the U.S.
House of Representatives blocked a Republican-led resolution to censure the Minnesota Democrat.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “Somalia is consistently ranked among the World’s Most Corrupt Countries, including Bribery, Embezzlement, and a Dysfunctional Government. All of this, and Ilhan Omar tells us how to run America!”
This is not the first time Trump has targeted Omar. In 2019, he told her and three other Democratic congresswomen of color to “go back” to the countries they came from—remarks widely condemned as racist. At a rally later that year, his supporters echoed him with chants of “send her back.”
