More than a year before Donald Trump’s first presidential win, some of Rep. Tom Emmer’s constituents were packed into a Minnesota bar and asking him how to stop Somalis from moving into the district.

“Nobody asked us if we, in St. Cloud, want those Somalis,” a constituent told Emmer during a town hall exchange reported by “This American Life.”

The discussion grew tense, but the first-term Republican congressman responded forcefully: As long as they moved into the community legally, “you don’t get to slam the gate behind you and tell nobody else that they’re welcome.”

A decade later and now one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, Emmer has become one of the chief defenders of Trump’s crackdown on Minnesota’s Somali community. In an appearance Wednesday on Fox Business, days after Trump said Somalis are “garbage” and should “go back to their country,” Emmer falsely claimed 80% of the crimes being committed in the Twin Cities are being committed by Somalis.

“The FBI has been investigating Somali gangs in the Twin Cities now for months,” he said. “I’m grateful President Trump has raised this to a national issue.”

The comments are part of a broader shift from Emmer, who has embraced Trump and the Make America Great Again movement since the president torpedoed his bid to become House Speaker in a 2023 Truth Social post. Emmer has positioned himself as one of Trump administration’s key advocates, regularly appearing on cable networks touting the president’s agenda.

Before Trump’s attack on Somalis, Emmer spent years making inroads in the community in his Sixth District, which is home to roughly 16% of the state’s Somali population, including about 7,500 Somali residents in St. Cloud, according to 2020 U.S. Census data.

Emmer and former Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison, now Minnesota’s Attorney General, formed the Congressional Somalia Caucus in 2015, which sought to advocate for “peace and stability” in Somalia by working with the country on its efforts to defeat al-Shabaab.

They also worked to figure out how to keep remittances from Somalis living in the United States flowing to the country as U.S. banks were stopping money transfers over concerns the money could fall into the hands of terrorists. Trump’s broadside last week was prompted by similar allegations by a conservative activist that fraud proceeds were funding terrorists.

Ellison said the creation of the Somalia caucus “was a great expression of bipartisan cooperation.”

“And now he won’t denounce the president calling the Somali community, his community, garbage? That’s sad, and I’m deeply disappointed,” Ellison added.

Ayan Omar, a Somali refugee from St. Cloud, said Emmer’s defense of her community during the 2015 town hall is what prompted her to vote for him.

But she said she’s observed a shift in Emmer since Trump was first elected in 2016 and stopped supporting him when he didn’t push back after Trump called African countries and Haiti “shithole countries.” Omar said she wants Emmer to stand up to Trump and hold a town hall to explain the current actions of the federal government to his constituents.

“Tom Emmer doesn’t get to choose who he gets to work for. He was voted by St. Cloud community members, therefore, he should be able to face the community in which he represents,” said Omar.

Emmer initially said he did not “want to paint with a broad brush” after Trump pledged to revoke Temporary Protected Status from hundreds of members of the Somali community.

“There are great Somali residents in Minnesota. I’ve got Somalis for Trump in St Cloud, Minnesota,” he said during a recent Kare 11 interview. “The fact remains, though, that a lot of these fraud schemes have come out of that community, and that’s what [Trump’s] talking about.”

Emmer ignored a Minnesota Star Tribune reporter on Capitol Hill when asked Thursday to clarify whether he agreed with what Trump said and if he condemned the president’s remarks.

His office also did not respond to several emailed questions, instead calling the Star Tribune “a communist rag that failed to investigate the massive fraud that has cost Minnesota taxpayers billions.”

The Star Tribune has reported extensively on the the fraud scandals, including stories on the pandemic-era Feeding Our Future scheme, which swindled an estimated $250 million from a federal meals program; the Housing Stabilization Services program, which pays providers to help vulnerable people find and maintain stable housing; and Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention, which provides services for young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Former GOP Rep. Vin Weber, a supporter of Emmer who considers him a good friend, does not think Emmer has changed to appease Trump or on the topic of Somali Minnesotans.

“I don’t think one of the leading Republicans in the country is going to disagree with the president, I don’t fault him for that,” Weber said of Emmer’s position on Trump’s targeting of Somalis.

“That’s different from what Tom is saying as a leader,” Weber continued, arguing that Emmer has focused his critique on fraud in the Walz administration rather than the Somali community.

Farhan Abdi, a Somali-born St. Cloud resident, is a Republican and has helped organize for local conservatives in his district, including Emmer. He said he “would love to see Tom speaking louder than what he did, but I will wait for the time to come.”

Abdi plans to still support Emmer, even as he’s torn on whether he will support other Republicans in light of Trump’s response.

Republican Mike Foley of Elk River recently launched a primary challenge against Emmer because he’s felt ignored by the congressman and thinks he’s lost touch with the district as he’s risen in leadership. Emmer not defending the Somali community is a key example of that disconnect, Foley said.

“It feels like, again, his only job is to whip people into shape, to keep them aligned with the policy talking points,” Foley said, adding: ”Even he knew and spoke years ago about the Somali community and immigration to this area. They drive business and economic growth and enrich our culture.”

David Sturrock, a former Treasurer of the Minnesota Republican Party who’s now a political science professor at Southwest Minnesota State University, thinks Emmer has not changed as a politician since he was first elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 2004.

“No one’s going to mistake Tom Emmer for a liberal then or now, no one’s going to mistake him for a shrinking violet or a wall flower. He does have a big personality, and you need that,” Sturrock said, adding that these qualities make him a key part of the GOP leadership team.

“He has a role to play and I think he seems to be effective at it.”

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