Davos 2026: Trump warns west is ‘destroying itself’, targets immigration and Ilhan Omar

Trump attacks immigration, Europe at Davos

US President Donald Trump used his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday to launch a broadside against immigration, European governance and liberal politics, warning that the West was “destroying itself” by importing what he described as failed cultures and abandoning traditional economic priorities.

Speaking before an audience of global political and business leaders, Trump said the United States had undergone a dramatic revival since his return to office, drawing a sharp contrast between what he characterised as economic decay under Democrats and what he described as a historic resurgence.

“Not even close. Just over one year ago, under the radical left Democrats, we were a dead country,” Trump said. “The USA is the economic engine on the planet, and when America booms, the entire world booms.”

He argued that Europe was now pursuing the same path the “radical left” had attempted to impose on the US, claiming that mass migration, high public spending and dependence on imports were hollowing out Western societies.

“Certain places in Europe are not even recognisable,” Trump said. “I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good. But it’s not heading in the right direction.”

Trump accused European governments of abandoning domestic industry and cheap energy in favour of what he called the “green new scam”, while importing large numbers of migrants from “faraway lands”.

Turning to domestic politics, Trump singled out Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar, describing her as a “fake congressperson” and repeatedly referring to migrants from Somalia.

“We have this fake congressperson — they just reported she’s worth $30 million. Can you believe it? Ilhan Omar talks about ‘the Constitution provides me…’. She comes from a country that’s not a country and she’s telling us how to run America. That’s not going to last much longer, let me tell you.”

Trump continued his criticism of Somalia, describing it as a failed state. “We’re taking people from Somalia, and Somalia is a failed — it’s not a nation,” he said. “Got no government, got no nothing.”

He went further, referring to Somalis as “low IQ people”, before adding remarks suggesting they were “good pirates”.

“The situation in Minnesota reminds us that the West cannot mass-import foreign cultures which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own,” Trump said.

He pointed to Minnesota while criticising immigration-linked welfare and governance, saying recent developments there illustrated what he described as the consequences of failed migration policies. Trump had made similar remarks a day earlier during a White House briefing marking one year of his second term.

Somalia has featured prominently in Trump’s rhetoric amid an intensified federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which has the largest Somali population in the United States. Minneapolis and St Paul have seen weeks of protests after federal authorities expanded enforcement operations, deploying more than 2,000 officers across the Twin Cities.

The crackdown has had visible economic consequences for Somali-owned businesses in south Minneapolis, where shop owners say fears of immigration raids have driven customers away and forced temporary closures.

At Davos, Trump framed immigration as central to what he described as the West’s wider decline, arguing that ideology-driven policies were undermining economic strength and social cohesion.

“When it goes bad, it goes bad. You all follow us down, and you follow us up,” Trump said, urging other countries to adopt what he presented as the US model.