Washington DC - President Donald Trump is facing backlash after he shared a post on social media demonizing Muslim kindergarteners.
On Monday, the president shared a Truth Social post that featured a brief video of a group of small children smiling and singing a song during a graduation ceremony.
The post included a caption from the right-wing account End Wokeness, which read, "Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every girl is in a hijab... in kindergarten."
According to People, the video is of the 2026 kindergarten graduation of students at Gateway STEM Academy, a majority-Black K-8 charter school in Minnesota.
The state of Minnesota – which has the highest population of Somalian immigrants in the country – has been on the president's radar after MAGA journalist Nick Shirley went viral last year with a video claiming he discovered a network of "Somali-ran fraudulent businesses" that were funded by the local government.
Though Shirley provided little evidence for his claims, it led to Governer Tim Walz dropping his bid for reelection, and Trump has since launched investigations into the state's government.
Walz shared a screenshot of Trump's post on X, accusing the president of "attacking a group of kindergarteners because of the clothes they wore to school."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also criticized the post, accusing Trump of using his platform "to amplify anti-Muslim bigotry and target Muslim children."
"Children deserve to feel safe in their schools and communities. When a political leader validates hate speech, it gives bigots a green light to target minority children," the group added.
Donald Trump expresses disdain for Somalians
Throughout his second term, Trump has faced heavy criticism over his excessive use of social media to criticize his political adversaries or social groups that don't align with his MAGA views, spread misinformation and conspiracy theories, and share AI-generated memes.
He has also made it very clear in recent years that he does not like Somalians. During an event at the White House last December, Trump told reporters, "Their country stinks, and we don't want them in our country," adding that he doesn't care if his remarks are "politically correct" or not.
In a statement to People regarding his recent post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public."