Trump’s Thursday Remarks Target Somali Americans and Abdul El-Sayed
October 9, 2026 — Political Watch / Public Statements
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday that Minnesota was being “taken over” by Somali immigrants and described violence, murder and mayhem across the state. He urged Minnesota authorities to seek federal intervention. Earlier that day, Trump called Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, a “radical extremist,” according to Reuters.
Reuters reported that Trump’s comments invoked a Minnesota child-nutrition fraud case dating to 2020, in which numerous individuals were accused of defrauding a state-administered, federally funded program. The existence of allegations against individuals does not establish criminal conduct by Somali Americans as a group. El-Sayed’s religion and candidacy are facts; Trump’s characterization of him is political rhetoric.
This report documents the public statements and their reported context. It does not treat rhetoric as proof of community-wide criminality or of how voters will respond. Readers can assess the language and evidence separately.