President Donald Trump unleashed a xenophobic tirade against Somali immigrants Tuesday, calling them “garbage” he does not want in the United States as he tried to refocus public attention on his anti-immigration themes.

“These are people who do nothing but complain,” Trump said at the tail end of a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “They complain, and from where they came from, they got nothing.

“When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it,” Trump added as Vice President JD Vance banged the table in encouragement.

Even for a president who has frequently made derogatory comments about immigrants, the rant against Somalis was an alarming use of vulgarity from the White House against an entire community.

Trump said Somalia “stinks” and “we don’t want them.” He described Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who came to the United States from Somalia as a refugee and became a citizen 25 years ago, as “garbage.”

“We could go one way or the other, and we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” Trump said. “She’s garbage. Her friends, garbage. These aren’t people who work. These aren’t people who say ‘let’s go; come on; let’s make this place great.’”

A spokesperson for Omar rejected his comments. “The congresswoman thinks his obsession with her is unhealthy and hopes he gets help,” spokesperson Jacklyn Rogers said.

The comments also followed a familiar playbook for Trump. He has often sought to refocus attention on his exclusionary immigration policies and rhetoric, particularly when his administration is facing pressure or crises on other fronts. Trump has most recently faced pressure from Democrats, as well as some of his own allies, on the issue of affordability, as well as legally debated strikes against vessels in the Caribbean.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs/Doug Mills
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