Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) ripped into President Donald Trump on Monday after he accused one of Omar's colleagues of being anti-semitic.
Some context:
On Sunday, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) made some comments about the Holocaust that were taken out of context by Trump and Republicans.
Speaking with Yahoo's Skullduggery podcast, Tlaib said that she was moved at the sacrifices made by the Palestinian ancestors during the creation of the Israeli state after the "tragedy and horrific persecution" of European Jews.
"There's kind of a calming feeling I always tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors, Palestinians, who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people's passports."
"I mean, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time, and I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away, right, and it was forced on them. And so when I think about a one-state, I think about the fact that, why couldn't we do it in a better way?"
Thus, Trump twisted this and tweeted that Tlaib hates Jews.
"Tlaib is being slammed for her horrible and highly insensitive statement on the Holocaust. She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?"
Omar bulldozed Trump's hypocrisy and blatant effort to drum up anti-Muslim fervor.
"You praised people at a neo-Nazi rally," she tweeted. "We don't have to imagine. This is another transparent attempt to sow division b/t minority communities and distract from your own criminal behavior by smearing a Muslim woman. No one should fall for it this time."
Recall that Trump said there were "very fine people on both sides" of a white nationalist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 (and this was one of the countless instances of Trump's outright bigotry). Attendees of the rally infamously shouted, "Jews will not replace us."
What Trump is doing is totally transparent and extremely dangerous.
Glass houses and all that.
Indeed, this is at best a really bad look for Trump, who on Monday hosted Hungary's far-right Prime Minister & dictatorial hopeful Viktor Orbán at the White House.
Orbán is widely viewed as anti-Semitic, stemming in large part from his crusade on higher education, his anti-immigrant rhetoric, and political punishments on Jewish organizations.
But like so much else, Trump will likely pay no price for his embrace of autocrats who espouse the traits he projects onto others.
