It’s no surprise that Rep. Ilhan Omar is making headlines again. The congresswoman from the 5th District of Minnesota, who took her seat just five months ago, has given herself a new brand as President Trump’s “biggest nemesis.”
On May 6, 2019, Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted “This is a president who has come to power vilifying and demonizing immigrants and refugees. He proudly said we should halt Muslims from entering our country. It’s not a surprise that he finds his biggest nemesis in me.”
Trump publicly condemned her on Twitter when he posted an edited video of Omar describing the 9/11 attacks as “some people did something…” at a Muslim fundraiser in March. The video also included footage of the twin towers burning to the ground. He wrote, “WE WILL NEVER FORGET!” Trump received strong criticism for it.
Recently, Omar defended Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in an interview with Democracy Now. She said, “You know, I mean, a lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela. And we’ve sort of set the stage for where we’re arriving today.”
The 37-year-old congresswoman continued, “This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States.”
After she blamed the U.S. for their actions and Venezuela’s misery, Vice President Mike Pence called her out in an interview with America’s Newsroom. “The congresswoman doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Nicolas Maduro is a socialist dictator who has taken what was one of the most prosperous nations in this hemisphere and brought it literally to a level of deprivation and oppression and poverty that we have never seen. Nine out of 10 people in Venezuela live in poverty. Three million people have fled Venezuela. That’s not a result of U.S. policies. That’s the result of dictatorship and socialism that has been imposed on people of Venezuela by Nicolas Maduro,” Pence said.
On The Ingraham Angle, State Secretary Mike Pompeo blasted Omar by saying: “So, the nicest thing I can say is it is unbelievable ignorance. It’s just factually wrong.” He continued, “The problems in Venezuela have been years in the making. It’s been a socialist regime, first with [Hugo] Chavez, now with Maduro. The destruction of a wealthy nation. A nation with more oil reserves than any other country in the world.”
Pompeo added, “For a member of Congress who, frankly, one who sits on an important national committee, making a statement blaming America first in this way, it’s not only ignorant, it’s disgusting.” Rep. Ilhan Omar still sits as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee even after allegations of anti-Semitism.
