President Donald Trump has named where he would prefer immigrants to the U.S. to come from during a rally in which he also took aim at “hellhole” countries.
Speaking in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump called Somalia “filthy” and “disgusting,” disparaged Afghanistan and asked why immigrants to the U.S. couldn’t come from Norway, Sweden or Denmark.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment outside of normal office hours.
Why It Matters
During his first presidential term, Trump was accused of using derogatory language during a 2018 Oval Office meeting in which he was reported to have referred to “s***hole” countries, and disparaged Haiti, as he rejected a bipartisan immigration deal.
Trump later denied he had used the language attributed to him and the White House said he backed immigration policies that welcome “those who can contribute to our society.”
But Trump’s announcement of a “permanent pause on third-world migration” included him telling the crowd, “I didn’t say ‘s***hole’—you did” and later comments appeared to confirm the 2018 report.
What To Know
Trump’s wide-ranging speech to the GOP faithful in north-eastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday included boasts about the economy, the effectiveness of his tariffs and immigration.
On the latter, Trump said he had announced a permanent pause “on third-world migration—including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, and many other countries.”
In what appears to be a response to what he had heard from the crowd, he said, “I didn’t say ‘s***hole’—you did.”
This appeared to confirm a story from his first term that had been denied, in which he disparaged Haiti and African nations, and referred to “s***hole” countries during an Oval Office meeting in 2018.
Trump repeated the language on Tuesday, as he continued, saying that he had told a meeting of Democratic lawmakers, “why is it we only take people from s***hole countries, right?”
Trump asked why there could not be some people from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, adding, “send us some nice people, do you mind?”
This is a reprise of reported comments by Trump in 2018 at that Oval Office meeting in which he had allegedly asked why there could not be more immigrants from Norway.
Trump also said on Tuesday that the U.S. always takes people from Somalia, and places that are “a disaster” in the speech in which he mocked Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who is of Somali heritage.
He referred to “her little turban” and falsely claimed that she had come to the U.S. illegally, prompting the crowd to chant “send her back.”
Trump has been ramping up his rhetoric about Somali immigrants living in Minnesota amid reports that the group was connected to a fraud scandal in the state. Omar accused the president of “regurgitating bigoted lies.”
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, on Tuesday: “Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few…from Denmark…send us some nice people.
Trump added: “We always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster…filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they’re good at is going after ships.”
Representative Ilhan Omar on X posted that Trump: “needs serious help. since he has no economic policies to tout, he’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead. He continues to be a national embarrassment.”
What Happens Next
The Trump administration has already banned travel from 19 different countries deemed a security and public safety threat, which includes Afghanistan but it is unclear whether Trump’s comments signal a new immigration policy.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the travel ban could be expanded to more than 30 countries following the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., in which the alleged gunman was an Afghan national.
