‘You have trafficked in hate your whole life’: Rep. Ilhan Omar swings back at Trump
Trump called on Omar to resign from Congress and her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., knocked the president in a tweet Wednesday, highlighting his record of racial and religious discrimination and bucking his calls for her to resign.
“You have trafficked in hate your whole life — against Jews, Muslims, Indigenous, immigrants, black people and more,” Omar tweeted. “I learned from people impacted by my words. When will you?”
Trump derided Omar Tuesday as having anti-Israeli views “deep seeded in her heart” and labeled her Monday apology as “lame.”
Watch: Trump calls on Rep. Ilhan Omar to resign
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Omar’s retort echoed a statement released by the Congressional Progressive Caucus Tuesday night, which mocked Trump as having no moral authority on the issues of hate and bigotry.
Hi @realDonaldTrump–
You have trafficked in hate your whole life—against Jews, Muslims, Indigenous, immigrants, black people and more. I learned from people impacted by my words. When will you? https://t.co/EqqTyjkiNE — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 13, 2019
Progressive Caucus Chairs Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., singled out Trump’s equivocating statement after the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally where neo-Nazis chanted “Jews will not replace us” as especially disqualifying.
“Let us not forget this president referred to neo-Nazis as ‘very fine people,’” they said.
“As a candidate and now as president, Donald Trump has consistently and unapologetically trafficked in white nationalism, Islamaphobia, sexism and racism,” they said. “Americans of all political stripes must reject this transparently cynical effort by President Trump and Congressional Republicans to stifle and intimidate” diverse voices.
Omar’s tweet repeated a sentiment expressed in her apology — that she had learned from critics who said her tweet about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee resembled an anti-Semitic trope.