American Conservative Commentator Matt Walsh: “There’s a lot of inbreeding in Somalia, which affects IQ”

American conservative commentator Matt Walsh has stirred controversy after doubling down on claims that Somalia suffers from widespread inbreeding, which he argues has a direct impact on the country’s average IQ. Walsh made the statement during a session on his Daily Wire program, The Matt Walsh Show, before reiterating his stance on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Am I wrong though?”

Walsh’s Claims and Context

The controversy began after U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born American politician, made comments about the intelligence of some American politicians during an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan. Omar stated:

“I’m at the point where it has become really hard to have an intellectual debate with any of these people because the level of stupidity that they are displaying every single day is, frankly, embarrassing. Not just in Congress, but as Americans. And the fact that these people are allowed to say just the most ridiculous things tells you that the dumbing of the United States has arrived because how else do we get a Trump presidency again?”

Walsh responded with an on-air rebuttal, targeting Omar’s Somali heritage:

“First of all, I mean, if you really wanna play this game, Ilhan, you come from Somalia, and you’re saying that Americans are stupid. You know what the average IQ in Somalia is? It’s — take a guess. It’s 68. The average IQ is 68. And — now that estimate comes from a study that was done in the early 2000s, I think. And other studies have tried to debunk it. I don’t think any of them have successfully because it’s the kind of thing that — you know, if anyone tries to study this and measure it, you’re gonna have the mass of mainstream science descending and saying, no. We can’t. That’s not allowed. That’s — that has to be not true. We — it literally has to be. We can’t allow that to be true. So there have been a lot of attempts to debunk this, none of them successfully.”

Somalia’s Socio-Economic Challenges

While Somalia has faced political instability, the nation has also demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity. International organizations, including the United Nations and World Bank, have highlighted economic recovery efforts, improvements in governance, and investments in infrastructure.

The claim that Somalia lacks paved roads is misleading. Major cities such as Mogadishu, Hargeisa, and Garowe have seen significant improvements in infrastructure, even though ongoing security concerns have posed challenges to further development.

Broader Implications of Walsh’s Comments

Walsh’s statements fit into a broader pattern of inflammatory rhetoric among certain conservative media figures, where racial and ethnic stereotypes are used as political weapons. This form of discourse often fuels divisiveness and misinformation, with real-world consequences for immigrant communities.

Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of right-wing criticism, has faced persistent xenophobic attacks since entering Congress. Her vocal advocacy for marginalized communities has made her a lightning rod in American politics, particularly among conservative commentators who oppose her progressive stance.

The assertion that Somalia has an average IQ of 68 originates from outdated and widely discredited sources. The concept of national IQ averages is highly controversial and lacks scientific consensus, as intelligence is shaped by complex and interdependent factors.

Many experts argue that such claims serve as dog whistles for white supremacist ideologies that seek to frame intelligence hierarchies along racial and national lines.

Matt Walsh’s comments have once again highlighted the challenges of misinformation in political discourse. While his remarks resonate with a certain ideological base, they have been widely rejected by scholars, policymakers, and the general public.

At a time when misinformation spreads rapidly across social media, it is crucial to challenge narratives that promote division and misrepresent facts. Somalia, like any nation, deserves to be analyzed through a lens of historical context and socio-economic reality rather than prejudiced and inaccurate generalizations.