The Minnesota daycare fraud scheme is the top news this month from the North Star State, as members of the Somali community there have been accused of looting billions of dollars. Now, Donald Trump is speaking up about it. On Sunday, the POTUS claimed that Somalis have stolen at least $19 billion from government funds allocated to daycare.
He attacked the entire Somali community living in the United States, saying they should be forced to leave. His comments came during a press conference on Sunday, where he extensively discussed nations he has had disputes with. He mentioned Somalia while addressing the Minnesota daycare fraud scheme. However, instead of targeting only the accused, he attacked “all Somalians.”
“The Somalians are ripping off this country to the tune of $19 billion, but that’s only what they can find. So, usually when you’re looking at 19, that would mean it could be 50, but the numbers are astronomical,” said Donald Trump, as seen in a video on X (formerly Twitter).
.@POTUS: “Somalians are ripping off our country to the tune of, it looks like, $19B — but that’s only what they can find… Every one of them should be forced to leave this country, including @IlhanMN, who’s a total crook… We’re not going to pay it anymore.” pic.twitter.com/pqXqK49unx
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 5, 2026
However, he soon shifted from talking about money to the military, calling Somalia a “dead country.” The POTUS said, “We don’t let them take ships anymore, do you know why? We use the same exact missiles on them that we use on the drug carriers, and it’s very effective.”
He also alleged that the country does not “have anything,” and that is why they were pilfering billions from the United States. “All they do is run around shooting people and trying to capture ships,” said Trump.
The POTUS then said that every Somali immigrant living in the United States should leave the country. He added that the same should be applied to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
“They’re stealing money from the American taxpayer, and every one of them should be forced to leave this country, including Ilhan Omar, who’s a total crook,” said the Republican leader.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇸🇴 President Trump says “every” Somalian should be deported from the United States, including Rep. Ilhan Omar. pic.twitter.com/7en7ysfctc
— Remarks (@remarks) January 5, 2026
“She’s one of the leaders of it, not the only one, because she’s not that smart, but think of it, $19 billion, at least, they’ve stolen from Minnesota and from the United States,” Trump added.
Although the Somali-run Minnesota daycare scheme has certainly made headlines, the estimated amount of fraud may be smaller than Trump suggested. According to experts, the confirmed fraud totals hundreds of millions of dollars, but not $19 billion. The largest case recorded is the Feeding Our Future childcare scheme, which misused around $250 million in child-nutrition funds.
However, investigators emphasize that even if the fraud stands at millions of dollars, it still represents a serious misuse of taxpayers’ money.
