President Donald Trump said Thursday during a press conference that he asked [1] Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud if he would like to “take back” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), but Mohamud declined.
The comment came as Omar continues to face controversy over remarks she made following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
During the press conference, Trump addressed Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese and referred to a past meeting with Mohamud.
“Between her and Ilman Omar and the group, I met the head of Somalia. Did you know that? And I suggested that maybe he’d like to take her back, and he said, ‘I don’t want her,’” Trump said, prompting laughter from those in the room.
Omar, who has been a member of Congress since 2019, has faced repeated backlash for her public statements.
Calls for her censure grew in September after she spoke about Kirk’s murder and criticized people who highlighted his accomplishments in the immediate aftermath of his death.
“I think there are a lot of people out there talking about him just wanting to have a civil debate,” Omar said during a Sept. 14 interview with Zeteo News host Mehdi Hasan.
“There is nothing more f-ed up than to completely pretend that his words and actions have not been recorded and in existence for the last decade or so.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar is happy Charlie Kirk was kiIIed: “He downplayed George Floyd. He opposed Juneteenth.”
Look at their grins pic.twitter.com/Ra5Eg4MZ3k [2]
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 11, 2025 [3]
She continued, “These people are full of shit, and it’s important for us to call them out.”
In addition to her comments, Omar reposted a video online that labeled Kirk a “reprehensible human being,” a “stochastic terrorist,” and a “transphobe.”
Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar shared THIS VIDEO where a man SMEARS Charlie Kirk, calling him a “Stochastic terrorist” who believed in the “subjugation of women” and blames conservatives for political violence in the world.@Ilhan [4] is absolutely DISGUSTING pic.twitter.com/eG9Dq3kFQ6 [5]
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 12, 2025 [6]
Two days later, on Sept. 15, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a resolution to censure Omar and remove her from her House committee assignments.
“Ilhan Omar’s disgraceful comments about Charlie Kirk and his supporters cannot go unchecked,” Mace said at the time.
The resolution was brought to the House floor for a vote on Sept. 17. Lawmakers voted 214–213 to table the measure, effectively blocking the effort.
Four Republicans joined with Democrats to prevent Omar’s censure.
The failed vote highlighted divisions within the GOP on how to handle Omar, who has long been a polarizing figure in Congress and is part of the progressive “Squad.”
Omar’s personal background has also been the subject of attention throughout her career.
According to Britannica, her family fled Somalia in 1991 during the outbreak of the Somali Civil War.
They spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before being granted asylum in the United States in 1995.
By 1997, the family had settled in Minnesota, where Omar later became a U.S. citizen at age 17 in the year 2000.
Trump’s remarks about his meeting with Mohamud and his suggestion that Somalia “take back” Omar drew headlines just as debate over her role in Congress continues.
While the resolution to censure her failed by a narrow margin, the controversy surrounding her comments has kept Omar at the center of political debate in Washington.