On Friday, the US ambassador to Somalia, Stephen Schwartz, met with the country's new president, Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmaajo" Mohamed. He brought a gift:
The phrase on the hat, which was in the colors of Somalia's flag, says "Make Somalia Great Again," a not-so-complicated adaption of US President Donald Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again."
It was a confusing exchange for two reasons. First of all, Schwartz was appointed by Barack Obama, not Trump. And second, Trump, the originator of the slogan, just last month signed an executive order that heavily restricted immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia, to the US. Farmaajo, as the Somali president is commonly known, recently spoke out about Trump's travel ban.
“It is part of my responsibility to talk about this issue with the U.S. government by conveying our message to the president and his government that the Somali people are really good, hard working people," Farmaajo said in an interview on Thursday. "They raise their families in the United States. So we will see if he can change that policy and exclude Somalis from that list."
The Twitter account for the US Mission to Somali tweeted a photo of the gift, writing, "US2SOM Amb Schwartz had a fruitful mtng w Pres Farmaajo 2day + presented the Pres with a cap "MAKE SOM GREAT AGAIN."
US2SOM Amb Schwartz had a fruitful mtng w Pres Farmaajo 2day + presented the Pres with a cap "MAKE SOM GREAT AGAIN… https://t.co/9pzzDdyEo6
In a tweet, Farmaajo — a dual citizen of the US and Somalia, who spent many years in Buffalo, New York — called Friday's meeting "productive."
Had a very productive meeting with #US Ambassador to #Somalia Stephan Schwartz. Discussed drought response & securi… https://t.co/cReZIj2z1R
But others couldn't really believe what went down.
@US2SOMALIA I literally thought this was from @TheOnion
@US2SOMALIA Is this a weird satire? We tried to ban travel from Somalia and we're just pretending it's chill. Is this real life?
@US2SOMALIA
For others, the gift was an insult, considering the country's recent placement on the ban list.
Burn this qashin hat. Make Somalia great again kulaha as if Somalia wasn't just on Trump's ban list. Keep the hat &… https://t.co/UhAw8v7ESu
"Qashin" means trash btw.
I have a ton of respect for Amb Schwartz but you've really got to question @US2SOMALIA decision here. Too political… https://t.co/7y5odRE0K8
Nauseating. US embassies/foreign relations degraded into Trump marketing tools. @US2SOMALIA https://t.co/k5E42CZ1Bc
The @US2SOMALIA actually tweeted this completely inappropriate hat. And yes #Somalia is on the ban list. WTF.… https://t.co/WOqXjMnJcv