‘My father came to US in 60s, I was born in DC’: Omar Fateh hits back at JD Vance’s ‘mayor of Mogadishu’ jibe

Minnesota state senator Omar Fateh fired back after Vice President JD Vance mocked him as “mayor of Mogadishu” (Capital of Somalia) during a Turning Point USA speech. This comment was considered racist and sparked Democratic backlash.

The Somali was mocked by the MAGA leader during a speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest on Sunday, joking that Fateh was Democrats’ “candidate for mayor of Mogadishu — I mean Minneapolis.”




“Little Freudian slip there,” Vance added, smiling and the audience laughed.

Vance was in front of a fully-loaded GOP crowd and said Democrats “are not sending their best.” He was referring to Fateh’s unsuccessful run for Minneapolis mayor earlier this year. Even after backing from socialist democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Fateh lost the race to incumbent mayor Jacob Frey, who won reelection to a third term in November.

Fateh responded Sunday on X and called Vance’s jab unserious. Fateh said: "Nice try JD Vance. My father came to America on a scholarship in the early 60’s, during the civil rights era, and earned a masters in engineering. I was born in DC and proud to represent MPLS in the MN Senate. Looks like you took time away from the couch to try out comedy."

Fateh posted a newspaper cutout headlined on his father, who came to the USA in the 1960s on a scholarship.

The exchange comes amid an ongoing tussle between Republicans and Minnesota’s Somali community. US President Donald Trump has recently criticised Somali Americans, calling them "garbage", even accusing Ilhan Omar of "marrying her brother" to allow him to enter US. Ex-DOGE leader Elon Musk has also weighed in on how Somali leaders use their own community as a "vote bank" in Minnesota and how this goes against the Democratic values set by the Constitution.