Trump says Rep. Ilhan Omar should resign
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar should resign from Congress or not be allowed to serve on committees following her tweet about Israel, which politicians from both parties decried as anti-Semitic.
“Anti-Semitism has no place in the United States Congress,” Trump said to reporters at a White House Cabinet meeting. He also called her apology “lame.”
It was the latest fallout for Omar, whose apology came Monday afternoon following an unusual public rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders. Omar’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
In a tweet on Sunday, Omar posted a song lyric, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby” — which she later clarified to say she was meant to suggest that money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, drove U.S. politicians to support Israel. It was not the first time that Omar has tweeted criticism of Israel, and before the latest tweet she had already had to work to allay concerns among Twin Cities Jewish groups about past online remarks.
“Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of antiSemitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole,” Omar wrote in her apology. She added that she continues to be concerned by the power of lobbyists in Washington, not just AIPAC but others like the National Rifle Association and the fossil fuel industry.
Several other U.S. House Democrats were critical of Omar’s tweet, including her fellow Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, who is Jewish. Omar has met with several of those members, including Phillips, following the public blowup.
“I spoke privately with Rep. Ilhan Omar today before issuing a statement in the hopes of converting a painful experience into a learning opportunity and a mutual commitment to pursue understanding,” Phillips said in a statement Monday night. “We agreed to move forward with a shared goal of working collaboratively to combat hatred and intolerance towards all persecuted communities, and commit to respectful debate of the issues important to each of us.”
Another critic was Rep. Eliot Engel, the New York Democrat who chairs House Foreign Affairs. Omar, who took office at the beginning of January, won a coveted spot on that panel, as did Phillips. Republicans have called for her removal, but Democratic leaders have not done so.
“Anti-Semitism in any form is unacceptable, and it’s shocking to hear a Member of Congress invoke the anti-Semitic trope of ‘Jewish money,’” Engel said in a statement in response to Omar’s tweet.
Trump’s response on Tuesday to a question from a reporter about Omar was not the first time he talked about her latest controversy. He also commented Monday night in El Paso, Texas: “I think it was a terrible statement and I don’t think her apology was adequate.”
Trump himself has been the subject of frequent criticism from Democrats and some Republicans for tweets and public statements about various groups of people. In one notable example, Trump said there were “some very fine people on both sides” at a public clash between white nationalists and protesters in Virginia.