Trump Shocks Allies: U.S. Won’t ‘Police’ Kenya, Somalia as Military Focus Shifts Inward

In a speech delivered Tuesday (1 Oct) at Marine Corps Base Quantico before over 800 military leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump stunned allies by insisting that it’s not “our job … to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia.”
He portrayed foreign deployments as misplaced priorities, arguing that the U.S. must instead confront an unspecified “enemy from within.” “Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia, while America is under invasion from within,” Trump said, signaling a pivot in U.S. defense policy toward domestic deployment and homeland security. Trump’s remarks complicate longstanding U.S. military cooperation with Kenya and Somalia. For Kenya, the development comes amid its expressed interest in joining a UN approved a new U.S.-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti, slated to replace its current Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).
Earlier Tuesday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to authorize the GSF: a 5,550-strong force with arrest powers, wider operational scope, and a 12-month mandate to dismantle Haitian gangs and stabilize the country. The resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Panama, upgrades efforts beyond the under-resourced MSS, whose personnel and funding had strained its effectiveness. As Trump calls for a redirection of military focus inward, questions now swirl over how U.S. commitment to multilateral missions — especially those involving African partners — may shift. For Kenya, readiness to engage in Haiti’s peacekeeping mission may clash with a U.S. posture less eager to shoulder overseas responsibilities.