Trump says Somaliland is “a totally different country” and should change its name right away
At a rally in Youngstown, Ohio this weekend, President Trump brought up Somaliland while talking about Somali immigrants in Minnesota. He said:
“I call it Somalia land, not Somaliland, because actually it’s a totally different country. Some people like Somaliland. It has nothing to do… I said, you got to be kidding. I think they should change the name immediately.”
He then went after the Somali community more broadly, calling the whole situation crazy and referring to “low IQ people.”
This comes months after Israel became the first country to officially recognize Somaliland as independent back in December 2025. Somaliland has been running itself since breaking away from Somalia in 1991, but the U.S. still doesn’t recognize it and officially treats it as part of Somalia. Trump had previously said he wasn’t ready to follow Israel’s move.
His latest comments don’t amount to any actual policy change the White House hasn’t said anything official but it’s the clearest he’s been about treating Somaliland as separate from Somalia. No response yet from Somaliland’s government or the State Department.