Rep. Omar claps back at Trump after he promoted a report suggesting Democrats are trying to oust her from Congress
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) claps back at President Trump after he promoted a report suggesting Democrats are trying to have her ousted from Congress in the next election.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., hit back at President Trump after he promoted a report suggesting Democrats are trying to have the freshman ousted from Congress in the next election.
"I am sorry Mr. @realDonaldTrump. I am for real, you can’t #MuslimBan us from Congress!" Omar tweeted, referencing the 2000 hit song “Ms. Jackson” by Outkast.
The controversial Democrat’s tweet came after Trump shared a post from a right-wing blog picking up on a recent report that some party members in Omar’s own state are looking to find a primary opponent for her next year.
MINNESOTA DEMS CONSIDER PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST ILHAN OMAR
Activists and officials interviewed by The Hill said that while they have not yet recruited a viable alternative candidate to the 37-year-old Omar, frustrations are mounting.
“There’s definitely some buzz going around about it, but it’s more a buzz of is anyone talking about finding someone to run against her than it is anyone saying they’re going to run against her or contemplate it," state Rep. Ron Latz, a Democrat, told The Hill. "There’s definitely talk about people wanting someone to run against her."
Omar Jamal, a Somali community activist, told The Washington Post that he has been in touch with Jewish community leaders about Omar. He said he supported her campaign but called her recent comments, "wrong, period."
"This is up to Ilhan Omar," he said. "She has really spoken in a very dangerous way, and it’s going to be up to her to reach out to people and fix this."
EX-ISRAELI SECURITY CHIEF SLAMS DEMS FOR TOLERATING OMAR
Omar has apologized for comments criticized as anti-Semitic and has support from Democratic colleagues, though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised eyebrows when she said the congresswoman “doesn’t understand” that some of the words she uses are "fraught with meaning."
Earlier this month, the House passed a bipartisan resolution condemning hate of all kinds in the wake of Omar's comments. But Democrats kept Omar's name out of the resolution, which several Republicans opposed as a watered-down, half-hearted effort.
Any primary challenge would face an uphill battle, given Omar's strong base of support and her backing by the influential Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. An Omar spokesperson told The Hill that Omar was not concerned.
The changing demographics that contributed to Omar's rise would also likely serve to buttress her 2020 bid. The Somali community grew in Minneapolis rapidly during the 1990s, when large numbers of Somalis fled a devastating civil war. The community has since grown with the addition of U.S.-born children of those refugees.
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Minnesota is now home to one of the largest Somali communities in the global diaspora, with an estimated 100,000 living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is the center of the Somali community – and is fondly nicknamed “Little Mogadishu” – for its array of Somali-centered organizations, businesses, and mosques.
Fox News' Gregg Re and Hollie McKay contributed to this report.
