Trump's Racist Somali Remarks, Signalgate Report, CDC Vaccine Meeting
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What racist remarks did Trump make about the Somali community?
President Trump has offered two days of racist rambles about Somali Americans, specifically targeting a Minnesota lawmaker, Ilhan Omar. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren't people that work. What's behind Trump's latest tirade? I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Defense Secretary Pete Hankseth is under scrutiny. A Pentagon inspector general says his March signal chat regarding military plans in Yemen violated the rules and may have put U.S. troops at risk. So how does the White House respond?
How did Trump's comments target Congresswoman Ilhan Omar?
And CDC vaccine advisors meet today with a new chair and a new agenda after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced the entire panel. They're considering rolling back recommendations that doctors have followed for decades. Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.
Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org. This message comes from this day. Each episode features one fascinating moment from U.S. history that took place that day and what it teaches people about the current moment. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Support for NPR and the following message come from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and seeks to help NPR be the model for high-quality journalism in the 21st century.
What are the implications of the Pentagon report on Defense Secretary Hegseth?
For two days in a row, President Trump has gone on racist tirades against the Somali community in Minnesota.
The Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain.
In a ramble that went on for several minutes on Wednesday, the president complained about Somalis as a group, including many citizens who employ him. Trump talked about deporting Ilhan Omar, a U.S. citizen who is a member of Congress. In the middle of his discussion, he threw in mention of President Obama, although he did not specify what he thought Obama and Somalis have in common. The president was responding to a question about the previous day when he also rambled for several minutes about Somalis.
We're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage.
How did Hegseth's use of Signal app endanger U.S. troops?
Her friends are garbage. These aren't people that work.
What changes are being proposed by the CDC vaccine advisory panel?
These aren't people that say, let's go, come on, let's make this place great. The two days of remarks, so far, began when a reporter asked about a fraud investigation in Minnesota where some Somalis, among others, were convicted of defrauding social service programs.
And Paris, Mara Lyson is here to tell us more about all this. Good morning, Mara. Good morning.
What controversies surround the new chair of the CDC vaccine panel?
So, you know, Mara, we've heard Trump target immigrant groups before from the first day of his first campaign for president, in fact, but calling an entire community of people garbage. I mean, is there something different here?
Yes, I think even by Trump's standards of nativism and xenophobia, these attacks were pretty harsh. You know, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been one of Trump's favorite targets for quite some time. He belittled her on social media recently, saying she's, quote, always wrapped in her swaddling hijab. He's told her to go back where she came from, even though she's an American citizen. And this does come, as you say, at a time when there's this big financial scandal in Minnesota. Federal prosecutors have convicted or indicted dozens of people for defrauding social services funding totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Most of those convicted are of Somali descent.
The vast majority of Somalis in the Minneapolis region are U.S. citizens. But the situation has provided the chance for Trump to attack Omar and the entire Somali community. And here's what he said.
They contribute nothing.
How might changes to vaccine recommendations impact public health?
The welfare is like 88 percent. They contribute nothing. I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you.
So let me just say here that there's no evidence that what he said is accurate.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What racist remarks did Trump make about the Somali community?
0:02–0:36
2
How did Trump's comments target Congresswoman Ilhan Omar?
0:36–1:40
3
What are the implications of the Pentagon report on Defense Secretary Hegseth?
1:40–2:28
4
How did Hegseth's use of Signal app endanger U.S. troops?
2:28–2:31
5
What changes are being proposed by the CDC vaccine advisory panel?
2:31–2:50
6
What controversies surround the new chair of the CDC vaccine panel?
2:50–3:53
7
How might changes to vaccine recommendations impact public health?
3:53–4:25
8
What are the potential consequences of altering vaccine schedules?
4:25–13:36
Speakers
7 identifiedMore from Up First from NPR
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