On December 2, 2025, U.S. president Donald Trump unleashed yet another racist rant, this time calling Somalis “garbage” and stating that their country “stinks.” This comes after decades of distortions and lies about Somali piracy, which in fact emerged from the collapse of Somali government and society, a nightmare created by the intervention of the wealthy families ruling the United States and European countries in particular. This is a good moment to review the horrific history of U.S. imperialism in Somalia, and the decisive role of successive U.S. administrations — Democratic and Republican — in that country’s destruction.