The progressive wave of congresswomen after the 2018 midterms mobilized Republicans across the country against a growing popularization of unabashedly progressive ideas such as environmental policy overhauls, the end of mass incarceration, medicare and housing for all, and a wealth of other initiatives.
Few have taken the brunt of this opposition harder than Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN). A member of the famous "squad," Omar faces constant attacks from the right.
Perhaps most notably, bolstered by President Donald Trump, thousands of his supporters chanted at one of his rallies last year to "send her back," calling for the deportation of an American congresswoman who escaped war-torn Somalia in her youth. Not one to back down, Omar turned the phrase into her reelection campaign slogan.
Fox News' primetime commentators frequently insinuate that Omar isn't a "real American" and it only takes a quick scroll through her Twitter replies to see just how many people believe them.
Far-Right Fox host Laura Ingraham continued the xenophobic rhetoric against Omar in a recent segment.
Watch below.
Ingraham said:
"Every subject, every extracurricular activity, will be perverted to turn your kids into mini Ilhan Omars. They're gonna learn that capitalism is racist, history as conventionally taught is racist, literature—most of that's racist, patriotic songs: racist, and the Declaration and the Constitution? Of course, they're racist. Are you sensing a theme here?"
She went on to say that the "three R's"—reading, writing, and arithmetic—would be changed to the "three C's": critical race theory, cancel culture, and community organizing.
Possibly unknown to Laura Ingraham, Congresswoman Omar's 17 year old daughter—Isra Hirsi—is an unapologetically vocal activist in her own right, with quite the impressive Twitter following to boot.
Hirsi responded to Ingraham's claim that education would be "perverted" to turn children into "mini Ilhan Omars."
anyways school did not teach me anything, i did that myself
— isra hirsi (@israhirsi) July 9, 2020
The retort came just two days after Hirsi mocked Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for referring to her mother's "Marxist comrades."
People praised Hirsi's response.
Besides, becoming a congresswoman is usually the reflection of a solid education.
Ilhan Omar faces her first primary reelection on August 14th.