New York, – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended a high-profile state dinner hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in New York, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, according to a statement from Villa Somalia.
Villa Somalia announced on its official X (formerly Twitter) account that President Hassan Sheikh had joined the celebratory dinner alongside world leaders. The statement was accompanied by an official photo showing the Somali leader standing next to Donald and Melania Trump. No further details were provided on the substance of their interaction.
The dinner was held in New York City during the UN General Assembly week, which gathered heads of state and government from across the globe to commemorate the UN’s 80-year legacy.
- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud – President of Somalia
- Donald Trump – President of the United States
- Melania Trump – First Lady of the United States
- Leaders and representatives of UN member states
The meeting comes at a tense moment in U.S.-Somali relations, following Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on Somalia and Somali-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Just days earlier, Trump told reporters at the White House that he had jokingly asked President Hassan Sheikh if he wanted to “take back” Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat of Somali descent. According to Trump, Hassan Sheikh dismissed the suggestion, responding, “I don’t want to.”
Trump made those comments while signing an executive order paving the way for U.S. ownership of TikTok’s American operations. His remarks sparked a new round of controversy, as they followed years of political clashes between him and Omar.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar fired back on X, accusing Trump of fabricating the story and calling him a “lying fool.” She wrote that it was “pathetic” for the former president to weaponize her Somali heritage for political gain.
Meanwhile, Trump doubled down in a post on his platform Truth Social, describing Somalia as a “failed state plagued by government dysfunction, chronic poverty, famine, resurging terrorism, piracy, decades of civil war, corruption, and lawlessness.” He claimed 70% of the Somali population lives in extreme poverty, while accusing Somali leaders of presiding over “a failed government steeped in graft and mismanagement.”
Ilhan Omar, elected to Congress in 2018, made history as one of the first Muslim women to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has been a frequent target of Trump’s rhetoric, particularly during his 2019 campaign rallies where chants of “send her back” drew widespread criticism as racist and xenophobic. Despite public backlash, Trump has continued to use Omar’s Somali heritage to rally his conservative base, portraying her as un-American and hostile to U.S. foreign policy, especially on issues related to Israel.
While the New York dinner highlighted diplomatic protocol between the Somali and U.S. presidents, the shadow of Trump’s ongoing feud with Ilhan Omar loomed large over the event. For Somalia, the optics of standing alongside Trump may strengthen international visibility, but it also places President Hassan Sheikh in a politically sensitive position. For Trump, the episode underscores his strategy of weaponizing identity politics as he continues to intertwine domestic political battles with America’s foreign relations.
