Donald Trump, deplorable in chief, has no qualms whatsoever about the increased number of death threats Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has been receiving since he tweeted a video of edited 9/11 footage interspersed with remarks Omar had made to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Taken out of context, the video made Omar sound as if she was dismissive of the terror attack, when Omar was clearly making the case that more than a billion Muslims were not responsible for the actions of 19 hijackers, 16 of which came from Trump’s favorite ally, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, Trump saw his moment to pounce and take the most racist track possible, loudly barking to his followers that Omar wasn’t American at all, and suggesting she had allegiances elsewhere. Of course, Trump has a history of questioning the loyalty of American citizens of color. Look no further than his racist birther attacks on President Obama for another crystal-clear example.
Ahead of a planned trip by Trump to Rep. Omar’s home state of Minnesota, the freshman congresswoman noted how harmful his rhetoric is, and the correlation between his words and a dramatic increase in hate crimes. From CNN:
"Violent crimes and other acts of hate by right-wing extremists and white nationalists are on the rise in this country and around the world. We can no longer ignore that they are being encouraged by the occupant of the highest office in the land. Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226 percent increase in hate crimes in the months following the rally. And assaults increase when cities host Trump rallies. This is particularly concerning given the president's visit to my home state of Minnesota on Monday," Omar said in her Sunday statement.
"Violent rhetoric and all forms of hate speech have no place in our society, much less from our country's Commander in Chief. We are all Americans. This is endangering lives. It has to stop," said Omar.
On the ground in Minnesota the very next day, Trump was asked if he had any second thoughts about his attacks on Rep. Omar, and his callous response was nothing more than stunning. It should send shivers down your spine as the president of the United States shrugs off death threats toward a member of Congress, threats arising from his own hateful words. In fact, he doubled down, saying, “She’s got a way about her that is, I think, very, very bad for our country.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Omar responded:
"I did not run for Congress to be silent. I did not run for Congress to sit on the sidelines. I ran because I believed it was time to restore moral clarity and courage to Congress. To fight and to defend our democracy," she tweeted earlier this month.
"No one person — no matter how corrupt, inept, or vicious — can threaten my unwavering love for America. I stand undeterred to continue fighting for equal opportunity in our pursuit of happiness for all Americans," Omar continued.
For a man who has pledged to “never forget,” he seems to have clearly forgotten, in the same way he’s forgotten all about murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Shortly after Trump took office, he embarked on a trip to Saudi Arabia, his first international trip as president. There he put aside the terror attacks of the 9/11 hijackers to dance the night away.
He also enjoyed a golden necklace given to him by the king of Saudi Arabia. He was so honored by the gift from a man with far more wealth than Trump will ever know, he appeared to curtsy to the king. CAN YOU IMAGINE if this were Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama curtsying?
Meanwhile, Rep. Omar tweeted a message of support and prayer to the people of Paris regarding the Notre Dame Cathedral fire. That tweet is below. Unfortunately, her message was met with grotesque, racist rage from Trump’s followers, who compared her to ISIS and fanned the flames of conspiracy, saying this simply must have been an attack on Christianity, despite all evidence pointing to a construction accident.
Sadly, one of these followers could very well be willing to take Trump’s hateful message to another horrifying level, as some of his followers have been inspired to do in the past three years.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has ordered the Capitol Hill police to review security for Rep. Omar. She’s going to need it, and she deserves a full-throated response from all Democrats.