It’s hardly surprising that many in Minnesota’s Somali community went MAGA and voted Trump in 2024. After all, if you’re a conservative who’s opposed to LGBTQ rights, skeptical of feminism, and want to promote values rooted in faith and family traditions while preserving religious beliefs, why would you vote for Kamala Harris?
All that, on top of the Democrats’ open and unapologetic support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, saw a swell of Trump support among Somali Americans. But, after the ongoing brutal occupation by ICE, who don’t care if you’re a citizen and will detain you based on the color of your skin, it’s safe to say Somali American Trump voters are experiencing some… buyer’s remorse.
An article in the Minnesota Reformer interviews Sahra Sharif, owner of a clothes shop in Minneapolis’ Medina Mall. Business was slow, she explains that fear of ICE means her customers are staying at home: “The entire shopping mall is completely empty because people rarely come out of their homes.”
As she miserably explains: “In my family, people rarely go outside unless it’s absolutely necessary; and if anyone does, it is considered a reckless thing to do.” The twist is that Sharif herself enthusiastically voted for Trump in 2024.
Turkeys voting for Thanksgiving
The reporter says Sharif gave “an exasperated sigh” when this came up, saying: ““Would you believe if I told you I voted for this man?” Apparently, in 2024 campaigners visited her in her shop and spun a seductive tale that a Trump presidency would be fantastic for her business and that he’d fight against “the LGBTQ agenda”.
Sharif says she “immediately hooked” and went on to vote Republican for the first time. Once Trump won, she likely cheered in satisfaction, then sat back and waited for her business to boom. Cut to a year later, the mall is deserted, her store appears doomed, and she lives in constant terror:
“I never thought the man I put in office would come for my family, make me financially struggle and cause me so much fear that I carry my passport when I go to the bathroom. … I feel as though the weapon I built is coming to kill me and my people.”
Well, congratulations on getting there in the end. At this point, any minority immigrant community supporting Trump is a turkey voting for Thanksgiving. MAGA doesn’t care if you agree with them: they judge you on where you were born and the color of your skin, and they will never, ever respect you or give you any leeway simply because you share ‘conservative values’.
Here’s hoping minorities considering voting Republican in the future remember this. Sure, you might have to hold your nose to vote Democrat, but at least they’re not gleefully signing your death warrant.
