Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) used a familiar rebuke in reacting to former President Donald Trump over his statement Sunday criticizing Jews in the United States.
In an interview, which aired hours after Trump’s Truth Social post drew backlash and headlines, Omar invoked the same sort of language levied at her years ago in response to controversial comments she made about Jewish people. The congresswoman did so as she slammed the “hypocrisy of the Republicans,” saying they have not rushed to condemn Trump like they might have done with her.
TRUMP RANTS ABOUT US JEWS NEEDING ‘TO GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER’ AND ‘APPRECIATE’ ISRAEL
Former President Trump “repeatedly invokes dual loyalty tropes that are harmful and dangerous,” Omar told host Mehdi Hasan on MSNBC. “Anti-Semitism is on the rise and all of us have a responsibility to condemn it,” she also said.
It was in February 2019, when Omar was still a first-term congresswoman, that she sent out a series of tweets complaining about the influence of the pro-Israel lobby on Congress and at one point said, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby!” This elicited backlash for what many people viewed as anti-Semitic comments, including Democratic leadership who condemned Omar’s “use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters,” and Republicans including Trump himself, who called on Omar to resign.
“The former President knowingly, repeatedly invokes dual loyalty tropes that are harmful and dangerous. … Anti-Semitism is on the rise and all of us have a responsibility to condemn it,” @IlhanMN says to @MehdiRHasan in reaction to Donald Trump’s latest bigotry. pic.twitter.com/HIzaNPCE6C
— The Mehdi Hasan Show (@MehdiHasanShow) October 17, 2022
Omar soon tweeted out a statement where she acknowledged that “anti-Semitism is real” and said that she was “grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating [her] on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.” She added that she “unequivocally apologize[d],” but later equivocated on the “unequivocal apology” she offered, insisting, “I apologized for the way that my words made people feel.”
Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who were the first Muslim women elected to Congress, had previously taken heat for their vocal support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against the Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.
In his Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump criticized Jews in the United States over a perceived lack of support for Israel. “No President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S. Those living in Israel, though, are a different story — Highest approval rating in the World, could easily be P.M.! U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — Before it is too late!” he wrote.
Among those who chastised Trump for the post was head of the American Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt. “We don’t need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the US-Israel relationship. It is not about a quid pro quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This ‘Jewsplaining’ is insulting and disgusting,” he said in a tweet.
