Trump Targets Immigrants from Somalia, Haiti at Ohio Rally

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- President Donald Trump used a rally in Ohio on Monday to boost Republican candidates and reiterate past criticisms of immigrants from Somalia and Haiti. The event aimed to support candidates like Sen. Jon Husted, whose reelection campaign faces a challenging environment.

Trump focused on immigration, a central theme of his past campaigns. He linked Somali immigrants, referencing Minnesota's population, to Haitians in Springfield, Ohio. The former president repeated his debunked claim from a previous debate that some Haitians eat pets, stating "I was right" and suggesting his administration's policies were driving them out of the country. He also asserted that Ohio should not be "plundered, ransacked and destroyed like Minnesota is being destroyed."

The rally occurred the same day that Homeland Security agents searched the Washington home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali immigrant who represents a Minnesota district. Trump has a history of making critical remarks about immigrants from countries like Haiti, and in 2018, he reportedly questioned why the U.S. could not admit more immigrants from countries like Norway. While he initially denied making such statements, he later admitted to using offensive language last year. His administration also focused on restricting immigration and limiting refugee intake, with exceptions for white South Africans.

Trump celebrated what he described as an exodus of Haitians from Springfield, referencing the termination of a program that allowed over 350,000 Haitians to remain in the U.S. legally. He also made disparaging remarks about Somali immigrants, calling them "low IQ" and claiming they "don't have pants to wear."

The rally also featured an announcement that a new submarine component manufacturing center would be located in Cleveland. The event in Youngstown occurred less than a week after Trump rallied in Dayton, highlighting the state's importance in the upcoming midterm elections.

In addition to Husted's Senate race, the rally touched upon the closely contested Ohio governor's race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton. Separately, mailers sponsored by the Enough Promises Ohio PAC have begun circulating, promoting an independent candidate, Greg Levy, over Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown. Levy, who identifies as a socialist, has condemned these mailers as a misleading tactic intended to harm his campaign. Records indicate that Enough Promises Ohio has made significant payments to Seven Farms, a firm linked to Big Dog Strategies LLC, the firm that advises Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC and managed the successful campaign against Brown in 2024.