Trump's Racist Somali Remarks, Signalgate Report, CDC Vaccine Meeting

Summary

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Up First – December 4, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of NPR’s Up First, hosted by Steve Inskeep and Michelle Martin, focuses on three major stories:

1. President Trump's recent racist remarks about Somali Americans and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
2. A Pentagon report examining Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s improper security practices in discussing military plans (the "Signalgate" report).
3. A pivotal CDC vaccine advisory meeting in the wake of a controversial panel overhaul.

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1. Trump’s Racist Somali Remarks

Main Theme:
President Trump delivered repeated racist attacks targeting Somali Americans in Minnesota, especially Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, amidst political pressures and a Minnesota fraud investigation.

Key Discussion Points

• Nature of Trump’s Rhetoric:
  • For two days, Trump engaged in what hosts and analysts described as “racist tirades” against Somali Americans, specifically calling out Ilhan Omar (02:29).
• Direct Quotes:
  • “She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people that work.” – Donald Trump [00:09]
  • “The Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country and all they do is complain, complain, complain.” – Trump [02:35]
  • “They contribute nothing. The Welfare is like 88%. They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you.” – Trump [04:40]
  • Host Fact-Check: Michelle Martin points out after Trump's remarks: “Let me just say here that there’s no evidence that what he said is accurate.” [04:50]
• Context/Background:
  • The remarks followed questions about a Minnesota fraud scheme in which some Somali Americans were convicted, providing Trump the opportunity to further attack the community (03:24).
  • Ilhan Omar has been a frequent target, with Trump previously telling her to “go back where she came from” (03:52).
• Analyst Insights:
  • Mara Liasson notes, “Even by Trump’s standards of nativism and xenophobia, these attacks were pretty harsh.” [03:52]
  • Trump’s comments are leveraged to distract from low approval ratings, difficulties in achieving campaign promises, and to solidify support among his base (04:58–05:36).
• Political Strategy:
  • Liasson suggests the remarks are intended to energize Trump’s base and distract from ongoing problems like low approval ratings and stalled policy goals [05:20].
• Upcoming Diplomatic Event:
  • The hosts note Trump is meeting African leaders (from Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo) as he seeks to bolster his image as a peacemaker deserving the Nobel Prize—a context that contrasts sharply with his Somali statements (06:01).

Memorable Moment

“Calling an entire community garbage? I mean, is there something different here?”
— Michelle Martin [03:39]

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2. Pentagon "Signalgate" Report on Pete Hegseth

Main Theme:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces scrutiny after a Pentagon inspector general’s report reveals he used an insecure, personal communication channel (Signal app) to share secret military attack plans concerning Yemen.

Key Discussion Points

• Report Findings:
  • Hegseth shared classified details—exact attack timings and plans for strikes against the Houthis in Yemen—over Signal, a private encrypted messaging app, instead of secure government channels (07:01–07:41).
  • The group chat included top officials and, inadvertently, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg (Atlantic), who published content days later [07:45].
• Security Risks:
  • “All of these senior government officials at work and at home have rooms where they can communicate securely… Instead, they were on Signal, a publicly available app… it can be hacked.” – Greg Myhre (NPR national security correspondent) [08:27]
• Pentagon and White House Responses:
  • Hegseth responded in writing but declined an interview; he claims to have authority to declassify information, but there's no evidence he did so before sharing (09:12).
  • The White House maintains “no classified information was leaked and operational security was not compromised” and Trump remains supportive of Hegseth [09:43].
• Source Attribution:
  • NPR’s reporting is based on anonymous sources familiar with the unreleased inspector general report [07:01].

Memorable Moment

“He provided updates on when these weapons would begin to strike inside Yemen. This was the start of a bombing operation... that lasted for weeks.”
— Greg Myhre [08:45]

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3. CDC Vaccine Panel Overhaul & Advisory Meeting

Main Theme:
The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee convenes under new leadership, following the controversial mass replacement of panel members by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., sparking widespread concern in the public health community.

Key Discussion Points

• Panel Shake-up:
  • Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. replaced the entire committee with largely inexperienced members, some with controversial stances on vaccines (10:28).
  • The new chair, Dr. Kirk Milhone, is noted for supporting disproven Covid treatments (Ivermectin) (10:55).
• Agenda Items & Stakes:
  • A vote is expected on whether to end the decades-old recommendation for universal infant hepatitis B vaccination, which experts warn could lead to preventable deaths (11:14).
  • The panel will also review the overall childhood vaccine schedule and vaccine ingredients (11:53).
  • Recent changes to CDC’s website, under Kennedy, hint at links between vaccines (specifically those with aluminum) and autism, a claim not supported by scientific consensus—yet now on the agenda (12:26).
• Expert Opinions:
  • “Every vaccine on the schedule is vetted and it’s based on the age at which a child’s immune system can provide optimal protection, balanced with the age the child is at highest risk for a disease.” – (Referenced by Michelle Martin quoting Dr. Sean O’Leary) [12:16]
  • Delays in hepatitis B immunization, even by a few months, could result in “hundreds of preventable deaths each year” (11:22).
• Concerns about Vaccine Ingredients:
  • The meeting will also address public concerns about aluminum compounds in vaccines. Scientists stress that these compounds have been used safely since the 1930s and that replacement vaccines are not yet available if banned prematurely (12:46).
• Broader Implications:
  • Despite growing independent recommendations by some states and medical groups, the CDC panel’s influence over insurance coverage and public perception remains significant (13:13).

Memorable Moment

“There is a lot at stake in this meeting. […] They have a big megaphone to shape what people hear and think about vaccines.”
— Ping Huang [13:13]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Trump:
  • “She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage.” [00:09]
  • “The Somalians should be out of here.” [02:35]
• Michelle Martin:
  • “There’s no evidence that what he said is accurate.” [04:50]
• Mara Liasson:
  • “Even by Trump’s standards of nativism and xenophobia, these attacks were pretty harsh.” [03:52]
• Greg Myhre:
  • “All… should have been using… government systems known as SCIFs. Instead, they were on Signal… it can be hacked.” [08:27]
• Ping Huang:
  • “If these ingredients get banned… it could take years for replacements to be developed.” [12:46]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Trump’s Somali Remarks Recap: [00:02]–[06:22]
• Pentagon "Signalgate" Report: [06:31]–[09:55]
• CDC Vaccine Advisory Meeting: [10:11]–[13:36]

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Tone & Language

The episode’s overall tone is direct, analytical, and urgent, with hosts frequently challenging misinformation and emphasizing public significance.

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In Summary

This Up First episode contextualizes Trump’s intensifying racist rhetoric, investigates grave breaches of military communication protocols, and highlights a high-stakes shift in U.S. vaccine policy—all key news for anyone seeking to understand the day’s urgent developments.

Transcript

[Steve Inskeep]

President Trump has offered two days of racist rambles about Somali Americans, specifically targeting a Minnesota lawmaker, Ilhan Omar.

[Donald Trump]

She's garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren't people that work.

[Michelle Martin]

What's behind Trump's latest tirade?

[Steve Inskeep]

I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is up first from NPR News.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under scrutiny. A Pentagon inspector general says his March signal chat regarding military plans in Yemen violated the rules and may have put US Troops at risk. So how does the White House respond?

[Michelle Martin]

And CDC vaccine advisors meet today with a new chair and a new agenda. After Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Replaced the entire panel, they're considering rolling back recommendations that doctors have followed for decades. Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.

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[Steve Inskeep]

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[Michelle Martin]

For two days in a row, President Trump has gone on racist tirades against the Somali community in Minnesota.

[Donald Trump]

The Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country and all they do is complain, complain, complain.

[Steve Inskeep]

In a ramble that went on for several minutes on Wednesday, the president complained about Somalis as a group, including many citizens who employ him. Trump talked about deporting Ilhan Omar, a US Citizen who is a member of Congress. In the middle of his discussion, he threw in mention of President Obama, although he did not specify what he thought Obama and Somalis have in common. The president was responding to a question about the previous day when he also rambled for several minutes about Somalis.

[Donald Trump]

We're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren't people that work. These aren't people that say, let's go. Come on, let's make this place great.

[Steve Inskeep]

The two days of remarks so far began when a reporter asked about a fraud investigation in Minnesota where some Somalis, among others, were convicted of defrauding social service programs.

[Michelle Martin]

NPR's Mara Lyson is here to tell us more about all this. Good morning, Mara.

[Mara Liasson]

Good morning.

[Michelle Martin]

So, you know, Mara, we've heard Trump target immigrant groups before, from the first day of his first campaign for president, in fact. But calling an entire community of people garbage? I mean, is there something different here?

[Mara Liasson]

Yes, I think even by Trump's standards of nativism and xenophobia, these attacks were pretty harsh. You know, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been one of Trump's favorite targets for quite some time. He belittled her on social media recently, saying she's, quote, always wrapped in her swaddling hijab. He's told her to go back where she came from, even though she's an American citizen. And this does come, as you say, at a time when there's this big financial scandal in Minnesota. Federal prosecutors have convicted or indicted dozens of people for defrauding social services funding totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. According to Minnesota Public Radio, most of those convicted are of Somali descent. The vast majority of Somalis in the Minneapolis region are U.S. citizens. But the situation has provided the chance for Trump to attack Omar and the entire Somali community. And here's what he said.

[Donald Trump]

They contribute nothing. The Welfare is like 88%. They contribute nothing. I don't want him in our country, I'll be honest with you.

[Michelle Martin]

So let me just say here that there's no evidence that what he said is accurate. But having said that, what do you think he gains from this?

[Mara Liasson]

I think this has been a tried and true tactic for him over the last 10 years. These nativist attacks, I think they attract attention. They can distract from problems he's having. You know, he denigrated Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals. During the 2024 campaign, he and J.D. vance repeated false rumors that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dog could it.

[Michelle Martin]

Be that he's also lashing out because he's frustrated. I mean, his approval ratings are low. He has not achieved a number of the things that he claimed he was going to achieve, including peace in Ukraine, et cetera. And I just wonder if this is part of the way he reacts to situations where he's not doing well.

[Mara Liasson]

I think that's right. His approval ratings are low. His base is solid, but independents give him a 25% approval rating. And Republicans are going to need those independent voters in the 2026 elections. Maybe they would rather have him bring prices down than attack immigrants.

[Michelle Martin]

So we don't know whether this is going to continue. As we mentioned, this has gone on for a couple of days now. The president is meeting with some African leaders today. How do you think that's going to go?

[Mara Liasson]

Well, they're not from Somalia. They're from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They're here to sign a US Brokered peace deal. Trump is taking credit for solving the conflict between these two countries, and he's adding this to a long list of wars he claims to have ended. It's all part of him making the case for why he should get the Nobel Peace prize.

[Michelle Martin]

That is NPR's Mara Liasson. Mara, thank you.

[Mara Liasson]

You're welcome.

[Michelle Martin]

At the start of this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced intense scrutiny over a US Attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.

[Steve Inskeep]

Now an investigation criticizes the way that Hegseth shared highly sensitive attack plans for airstrikes against Yemen back in March. That was the attack that Hegseth discussed in a group ch that included the journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic.

[Michelle Martin]

NPR national security correspondent Greg Myhrey is covering this and he's with us now. Good morning, Greg, to you.

[Greg Myhre]

Hi, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

So where is this new report coming from?

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah, this report comes from the Pentagon's inspector general who says Hegseth risked endangering U.S. troops by using the signal messaging app to share military plans before the first attack in Yemen. Now, NPR has not seen the report, but we've been in touch with people who have and they've described it on condition of anonymity. The report says Hegseth shared information labeled secret as he described details of the US Bombing campaign that was just about to begin against the Houthis in Yemen. This report, which is expected to be released publicly today, says Hegseth violated Pentagon rules by using a personal phone for official business.

[Michelle Martin]

And would you remind us who was Hegseth sharing this information with?

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah, he was in contact with essentially all top national security officials, the CIA director, director of National Intelligence, the security advisor, the secretary of state. And as we noted, what none of them knew was that Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of the Atlantic, was inadvertently included and was reading the messages as well. Now, he didn't report the contents in real time, but did so days later, when that U.S. bombing campaign was well underway in Yemen. All of these senior government officials at work and at home have rooms where they can communicate securely on government systems known as SCIFs, a Sensitive Compartmented information facility. And this is what all of them should have been using. Instead, they were on Signal, a publicly available app. Anyone can download. It, encrypts messages, and is considered quite good, but it can be hacked.

[Michelle Martin]

And would you remind us of what Hegseth said in these messages?

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah. Hegseth gave the Exact Times the US military was launching F18 warplanes, drones, and Tomahawk missiles at Yemen. And then he provided updates on when these weapons would begin to strike inside Yemen. And this was the start of a bombing operation against the Houthis that lasted for weeks, and it ended when Houthi attacks diminished against commercial ships in the Red Sea.

[Michelle Martin]

Did the Pentagon's inspector general speak to Hegseth?

[Greg Myhre]

So the report says Hegseth gave a written response, but would not sit for an interview. Hegseth provided a few of his Signal messages, but the report relied on screenshots that Jeffrey Goldberg published in the Atlantic. Hegseth also denied that he shared classified information, saying he has the authority to declassify information, which is true, he can do that. But the report did not say whether he took any action to do so before sharing the material.

[Michelle Martin]

And before we let you go, what is the White House saying about this?

[Greg Myhre]

They're saying that, quote, no classified information was leaked and operational security was not compromised. President Trump stands by Secretary HEGSETH.

[Michelle Martin]

That is NPR's Greg Meyer. Greg, thank you.

[Greg Myhre]

Sure thing, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

And I want to mention NPR CEO Kathryn Marr also chairs the board of the Signal Foundation. Its subsidiary makes the Signal app.

[Steve Inskeep]

Some other news now, vaccine advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meet today and tomorrow. They're expected to question how pediatricians vaccinate children for more than a dozen diseases.

[Michelle Martin]

NPR health correspondent Ping Huan is with us now to tell us more about it. Good morning.

[Ping Huang]

Good morning, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

What's this meeting about?

[Ping Huang]

So this is the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This is a panel that's been making recommendations on how vaccines should be used since 1964. And back in June, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Dismissed all the previous members, and he replaced them with members who have shown that they are not, generally speaking, all that familiar with the details of vaccine policy or how this group shapes it. At their last meeting in October, the committee's chairman said that they were rookies when they had to redo a vote. That chairman was replaced just this week. And the new chair is Dr. Kirk Milhone. He's a pediatric cardiologist and a fellow with the Independent Medical alliance, which is a group that still recommends people use drugs like Ivermectin to treat Covid even though studies have shown it does not work.

[Michelle Martin]

So what will be covered in this meeting?

[Ping Huang]

So, a few things. First of all, the group is going to be voting on whether to drop the recommendation that hepatitis B vaccines be given to babies at birth. This is a policy that's been in effect for more than 30 years, and it's something that came up at the last meeting where some members wanted to push the vaccine back to when kids are older and others said it would be a mistake. Now, since that meeting, independent researchers have found that delaying the Hep B vaccine by even a couple of months could lead to hundreds of preventable deaths each year. That's from liver cancers and health problems that are prevented by getting this $15 vaccine. Also, they're going to be discussing the overall vaccine schedule, which is who gets which vaccines and when, and also what goes into vaccines.

[Michelle Martin]

What are their concerns about the vaccine?

[Ping Huang]

Schedul Milhone, the new committee chair, told the Washington Post that they're going to be looking into whether vaccines are causing asthma, eczema, and other autoimmune diseases in children. This is even though large long term studies have found no evidence for this. Dr. Sean O' Leary with the American Academy of Pediatrics says that every vaccine on the schedule is vetted and it's.

[Michelle Martin]

Based on the age at which a.

[Michael Hosmar]

Child'S immune system can provide optimal protection.

[Greg Myhre]

After vaccination, balanced with the age the child is at highest risk for a disease.

[Ping Huang]

Now, Kennedy has also enraged the public health community recently by ordering changes to the CDC's website, suggesting that vaccines, and specifically an ingredient containing aluminum, might cause autism. This is also not supported by scientific consensus, but it's also a topic for this meeting.

[Michelle Martin]

And just for folks who might be interested, why is aluminum in vaccines?

[Ping Huang]

Yeah, so it's not the aluminum metal by itself. These are chemicals that contain aluminum and they're used to boost the immune system to make the vaccine more effective. Now, they've been used in vaccines since the 1930s. They're currently used in more than a dozen of them in very small amounts. But if these ingredients get banned, as some advocates have pushed for, there are no substitute vaccines without them that are ready to go. It could take years for replacements to be developed and to be made.

[Michelle Martin]

So there is a lot at stake in this meeting.

[Ping Huang]

There is, yeah. And a lot of people in medicine, public health are going to be watching very closely. And while doctors groups and some state health departments are making their own independent vaccine recommendations now, this panel still influences what insurance covers and what these public they have a big megaphone to shape what people hear and think about vaccines.

[Michelle Martin]

That's NPR health correspondent Ping Huang. Ping, thank you.

[Ping Huang]

You're welcome.

[Michelle Martin]

And that's up first for Thursday, December 4th. I'm Michelle Martin.

[Steve Inskeep]

And I'm Steve Inskeep. The news you hear on Up FIRST is possible because of you. When you give to your local NPR station, you help to keep journalists on the ground in your community and also around the world. You can make a [e-mail] Upfirst for more news and conversations, listen to the radio for MORNING Edition, which you can find on your NPR station [e-mail] Today's.

[Michelle Martin]

Episode of Up first was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Andrew Sussman, Scott Hensley, Mohamed El Bardisi and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from David Greenberg, and our technical director is Stacey Abbott. Our deputy executive producer is Kelly Dickens. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

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