Trump Attacks Omar at Pennsylvania Rally; Omar Hits Back Hard
Apparently Donald Trump thought it was a good idea Tuesday evening to renew his xenophobic and misogynistic assault on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), mocking her birthplace of Somalia and insinuating that the United States isn’t her home.
“She’s telling us how to run our country!” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “How did you do where you came from? How is your country doing?”
Trump on Ilhan Omar: She’s telling us how to run our country. How did you do where you came from? pic.twitter.com/XLSRZd6yFf
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 22, 2020
Omar, who has been a U.S. citizen for 20 years and is one of two Muslim-American women elected to Congress in 2018, had a stinging response: “Firstly, this is my country & I am a member of the House that impeached you. Secondly, I fled civil war when I was 8. An 8-year-old doesn’t run a country even though you run our country like one.”
Firstly, this is my country & I am a member of the House that impeached you.
Secondly, I fled civil war when I was 8. An 8-year-old doesn’t run a country even though you run our country like one. https://t.co/zcKKjdC8ju
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2020
This isn’t the first time Trump has attacked Omar and claimed that she’s not a U.S. citizen because she was born in Somalia. But when Trump trots out such campaign red meat and elicits the cheers and jeers he seeks from his rally-goers, he conveniently ignores the fact that much of his family also are immigrants.
That fact was not lost on Joe Scarborough Wednesday morning:
“She’s telling us how to run our country, as if it’s not her country because like Donald Trump’s mother and Donald Trump’s grandparents she was an immigrant to the United States of America.”
The Pittsburgh-area crowd’s reaction was disturbing – and predictable – to many who believe that Trump has made it acceptable to be openly racist in today’s society.
The President is disgusting and racist, but it’s the people in the audience who break my heart. Cheering bigotry. Shamelessly. Whew. That’s a tough thing to swallow. Gotta tell you. https://t.co/WgeC8KrVO1
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) September 23, 2020
The crowd reaction is the most chilling part to me. Not that we didn't already know his supporters were racist. But it's another reminder of how they've been emboldened by Trump and that's obviously not going away when he's out of office. https://t.co/EvQyY8CeHE
— Ben Finfer (@BenFinfer) September 23, 2020