Video of far-right Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado went viral this past weekend for suggesting Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota—one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress in American history—was a terrorist-allied suicide bomber.
Boebert's Islamophobic screed generated outcry from both sides of the aisle, but far-right members of the House, like prominent conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, leapt to her defense.
Boebert apologized to "anyone in the Muslim community [she] offended" but stopped short of apologizing directly to Omar. She later called Omar in private, but the communication collapsed when Boebert refused to apologize to Omar publicly.
Now, former President Donald Trump, has issued a bizarre statement even for him.
NEW!
President Donald J. Trump:
"Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should apologize for marrying her brother, committing large-scale immigration and election fraud, wishing death to Israel, and for essentially abandoning her former country, which doesn’t even have a government—Exactly pic.twitter.com/j3cfVmJx5J
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) November 30, 2021
Trump issued a barrage of baseless or outright false smears against Omar, writing:
"Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should apologize for marrying her brother, committing large-scale immigration and election fraud, wishing death to Israel, and for essentially abandoning her former country, which doesn’t even have a government—Exactly what she’d like to see for the United States!"
Trump accused Omar—an American born in Somalia who left the war-torn region as a refugee when she was a young child—of "abandoning her former country."
What's more, this isn't the first time Trump has attacked Omar for her former refugee status. In 2019, he included Omar in a list of "Squad" representatives—all women of color—who should "go back" to "the places from which they came." At a rally days later, Trump infamously basked in his supporters' chants to "send her back" to Somalia.
Though this latest statement wasn't entirely unpredictable for Trump, people were still disgusted.
someone please get this man some help .
— Rosel Ettress (@butterfly5069) November 30, 2021
Wow what a gross statement, especially from a "leader"
— Amelia (@AmeliaBanc) November 30, 2021
Lordy. I would call him a glorious idiot but there is nothing glorious about him. But really, so many adjectives I could use.
— Penni With an I (@pjmill4) November 30, 2021
Of course trash supports trash. For someone who uses the term “class” so much, TFG sure doesn’t know what the word means.
— Booster_Bronze (@Razer4455) November 30, 2021
Trump is preaching hate, as usual. #Trumpisanationaldisgrace🚨🚨🚨
— Derrick Maine (@DerrickMaine1) November 30, 2021
Trump was permanently banned from Twitter earlier this year after his lies about the 2020 election incited the January 6 insurrection, but Liz Harrington, his spokeswoman, continues to post statements on behalf, essentially resulting in an evasion of the ban. Today alone, Harringon has tweeted eight statements so far on Trump's behalf.
People are calling on Twitter to intervene.
You are in violation of Twitter's ban evasion policy.
Hey @Twitter and @TwitterSafety, how about enforcing your ban evasion policy? pic.twitter.com/xyYBg431vo
— TomMurphy (@TomMurp24740448) November 30, 2021
@Twitter this is crazy
Liz needs to be banned now as well
She has perpetuated his voice on Twitter
Disgusting
— 🇺🇸🏳️🌈Rules_of_Lloyd 🏳️🌈🇺🇸 (@RulesLloyd) November 30, 2021
WTF @Twitter
— SassyCon (@ConSassy) November 30, 2021
How is having this twit tweet out for Trump acceptable? @TwitterSafety As long as you continue to allow this, Trump is not banned. Take a stand!
— Susan Scarlett 🇨🇦 🇩🇰 (@SueScarlett) November 30, 2021
There's a new CEO at Twitter, Parag Agrawal, as of this week after its founder Jack Dorsey's resignation. It's unclear yet if he intends to tamp down on Trump's ban evasion.
@joehas/X