Libya Summons U.S. Envoy After Trump Calls It ‘Terror-Infested’

Libya’s foreign ministry summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country on Sunday to protest President Donald Trump’s description of the North African nation as “terror-infested” at a Georgia campaign rally.

At Saturday’s rally in Perry, Trump went after Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. “Jon Ossoff personally sponsored a bill to bring armies of migrants from terror-infested countries like Libya, Yemen, Haiti, Somalia,” he said, according to Reuters.

“Remember what I called them? Shithouse countries,” Trump added, a reference to his widely reported 2018 remark about immigrants from Haiti and African nations during his first term.

The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity handed the U.S. chargé d’affaires a diplomatic note demanding “official clarification and correction” of the remarks, the Libya Observer reported.

The ministry said it rejects any remarks that undermine the dignity of the Libyan people. It also objected to the country being pulled into “electoral disputes and domestic political calculations” in the United States.

The foreign affairs committee of Libya’s House of Representatives asked Washington to clarify its position, calling the president’s words “unacceptable descriptions that undermine the standing of the Libyan state.”

Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads the Tripoli government, also rejected the remarks. At the rally, Trump had asked why the U.S. takes migrants from those four countries rather than Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Trump Praises Libyans, Holds Line on Migration

Trump struck a warmer tone Sunday night on Truth Social. He wrote that the U.S. remains committed to ties with Libya and called its people “proud, resilient, hospitable, and deserving of peace and prosperity,” Reuters reported.

He did not back off the migration point. “We respect the Libyan people and the sacrifices that brave Libyans made fighting ISIS, the common enemy of both our peoples,” the president wrote.

“But Libya cannot remain a corridor for illegal migration, and this must end now,” he added. Libya’s coast has long been a major departure point for migrants trying to reach Europe by sea.

Libya has been divided for years between a government in Tripoli and rival authorities in the east. In a rare show of agreement, both administrations denounced the president’s remarks.

The Perry rally was part of a Republican push in Georgia, where Rep. Mike Collins is trying to unseat Ossoff in one of the most closely watched Senate races before the Nov. 3 election.

Trump used the same event to unveil plans for a $4.2 billion Audi plant in Middle Georgia and revived his promise of $5,000 payments if Republicans keep Congress, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

At a separate campaign event, Gov. Brian Kemp extended the suspension of Georgia’s state gasoline tax through Nov. 30, as Republicans worked to energize their voters with turnout lagging.

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