President Donald Trump revived his infamous 'shithouse countries' remark at a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday evening, telling supporters the United States should preferentially accept migrants from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark rather than nations he described as 'terror infested'. The remarks came ten days before the November 3 midterm elections, with immigration firmly at the centre of his campaign messaging for Republican candidates.

The Remarks at Perry

Trump told the crowd he had posed a question to Democratic senators during his first term: 'Why do we always have to take people from shithouse countries? Why can't we take people from like, well, Norway, Sweden. Why not Denmark?' He invoked the phrase a second time, asking the audience: 'Remember what I call them? Shithouse countries. Remember the heat I took from the Democrats?'

He specifically referenced Libya, Yemen, Haiti, and Somalia as countries he characterised as 'terror infested,' drawing prolonged applause from the crowd at the rally, which he attended after landing at Robins Air Force Base.

Claims on Immigration and the Border

Trump claimed his administration had 'achieved the most secure border in American history,' asserting that 'in the past 17 months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States.' He also claimed the US murder rate was at 'the lowest level it's been in 125 years' and that poverty rates — including among African-American, Hispanic-American, Native-American, and Asian-American communities — were at 'the best levels ever recorded.' These claims were not independently verified at the rally.

Trump also drew a comparison with France, claiming it was 'right now burning down because it opens its borders to people who hate it,' before adding: 'And you know what you do with those people? Never let them come into your country. And that's what we do.'

Notably, Asian Americans — including more than five million people of Indian origin — represent a closely watched voting bloc in Georgia, where the community has grown rapidly in the Atlanta suburbs.

Attack on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

Trump also directed sharp rhetoric at Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the Somali-born Democratic representative from Minnesota, singling out the Somali community and claiming — without evidence cited at the rally — that '98% of the people that we have here now in Somalia don't work' and that 'they all have a Mercedes Benz.'

He addressed House Speaker James Michael Johnson directly, saying: 'Please inform the Speaker of the House of Representatives James Michael Johnson that the Democrat Party has just conceded her seat,' and alleging that Omar 'has openly admitted to fraud and she will not be legally allowed to be a member of this August body.' The basis for this claim was not detailed.

Democratic Response

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a sharp condemnation. 'Donald Trump has consistently trafficked in vile and xenophobic rhetoric against the Somali American community, targeting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with unhinged personal attacks and baseless accusations,' Jeffries said in a statement.

Jeffries also referenced what he described as a recent incident involving Trump's Department of Homeland Security (DHS): 'After lawlessly sending his violent DHS machine to Congresswoman Omar's home earlier this month, the President is once again peddling sick propaganda against her at a moment when political violence is surging.' He added: 'Accountability is coming for the Trump Cartel and all of their lawless sycophants.'

With the November 3 midterms fast approaching and control of both chambers of Congress at stake, the Perry rally underscores how central immigration has become to Trump's final campaign push — and how incendiary the rhetoric around it remains.