A clip which has resurfaced online from a Somali Independence Day celebration in Minneapolis has sparked political backlash after former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire announced that Rep. Ilhan Omar’s political priorities are aligned with Somalia rather than the United States.

Speaking at the July 2024 diaspora event in Minneapolis, Khaire praised Omar in front of a crowd of Somali-Americans and urged attendees to support her political efforts. In remarks now widely circulated online, he said: “The interests of Ilhan [Omar] are not Ilhan’s. It’s not the interest of Minnesota. Nor is it the interest of the American people. The interests of Ilhan is that of the Somalian people. And that of Somalia.”

The comments quickly ignited controversy after being clipped and shared across social media, particularly given Khaire’s status as a former head of government, with many complaining that a foreign political figure was being promoted during a politically sensitive election cycle.

Khaire, who served as Somalia’s prime minister from 2017 to 2020, has maintained a visible role within the global Somali diaspora community, particularly in Minneapolis, which is home to one of the largest Somali populations in the United States, and has been the center of a taxpayer fraud scandal in recent months.

Omar has also been at the center of multiple controversies, including her highly criticized remarks towards President Donald Trump during his State of the Union speech in which she labelled him a “murderer”, as well as facing serious allegations from the President, including that she may have married her brother in order to gain US citizenship.

Omar posted on X earlier in the year to suggest that President Trump should be executed. She shared a clip of an interview with Trump on Fox News with the caption, “The leader of the Pedophile Protection Party is trying to deflect attention from his name being all over the Epstein files. At least in Somalia they execute pedophiles not elect them.”