'Europe Unrecognisable', 'Fake Congressperson Ilhan Omar': Trump Takes On Immigration At Davos

Last Updated:January 21, 2026, 21:23 IST

Trump uses Davos speech to lash out at Ilhan Omar and warn that mass migration is damaging Europe and the West.

US President Donald Trump gestures as he delivers a special address during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (IMAGE: AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday used his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos to deliver a sweeping attack on immigration, European governance and liberal politics, warning that the West was “destroying itself" by importing what he described as failed cultures and abandoning traditional economic policies.

Speaking before global leaders, Trump claimed the United States had undergone a dramatic turnaround since his return to office, contrasting what he called economic decline under Democrats with what he described as an unprecedented boom.

“Not even close. Just over one year ago, under the radical left Democrats, we were a dead country," Trump said. “The USA is the economic engine on the planet, and when America booms, the entire world booms."

Trump said Europe was now following the same path the “radical left" had tried to impose on the United States, arguing that unchecked migration, high government spending and reliance on imports were hollowing out Western societies.

‘Unrecognisable Europe’

“Certain places in Europe are not even recognisable," he said. “I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good. But it’s not heading in the right direction."

He accused European governments of abandoning domestic industry and affordable energy in favour of what he called the “green new scam", while importing large migrant populations from “faraway lands".

Ilhan Omar Is From A Country That Is Not…

Turning to the US immigration debate, Trump singled out Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar, calling her a ‘fake congressperson’ and repeatedly targeted migrants from Somalia.

“We have this fake congressperson — they just reported she’s worth $30 million. Can you believe it? Ilhan Omar talks about ‘the Constitution provides me…’. She comes from a country that’s not a country and she’s telling us how to run America. That’s not going to last much longer, let me tell you."

’Somalis Low IQ People, But Good Pirates’

“We’re taking people from Somalia, and Somalia is a failed — it’s not a nation," Trump said. “Got no government, got no nothing."

He went further, referring to Somalis as “low IQ people", before adding remarks suggesting they were “good pirates".

“The situation in Minnesota reminds us that the West cannot mass-import foreign cultures which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own," Trump said.

Trump also referenced Minnesota while criticising immigration-linked welfare and governance, saying recent developments there showed what he described as the consequences of failed migration policies. He made similar remarks a day earlier, on Tuesday, during a White House press briefing marking one year of his second term in office.

Somalia has featured prominently in Trump’s rhetoric amid an intensified federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali population in the United States. Minneapolis and St Paul have seen weeks of protests since federal authorities ramped up enforcement operations, deploying more than 2,000 officers across the Twin Cities.

The crackdown has had a visible economic impact on Somali-run businesses in south Minneapolis, where shop owners say fear of immigration agents has driven customers away and forced many businesses to close temporarily.

At Davos, Trump framed immigration as central to what he described as the West’s broader decline, arguing that economic strength and social stability were being undermined by ideology-driven policies.

“When it goes bad, it goes bad. You all follow us down, and you follow us up," Trump said, urging other countries to follow what he described as the US model.

News world 'Europe Unrecognisable', 'Fake Congressperson Ilhan Omar': Trump Takes On Immigration At Davos

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