The left rallied behind Rep. Ilhan Omar after President Donald Trump tweeted a video attacking the freshman lawmaker for allegedly downplaying the significance of 9/11.
Trump launched the dog whistle attack Friday stoking hate and vitriol among his base aimed at Omar's perceived lack of patriotism.
In the short clip, the Minnesota Democrat can be seen giving a speech from last month to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Her image is interspersed between other clips of the two towers set ablaze and falling as well as other chaotic moments from the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
"We will never forget!" He wrote.
WE WILL NEVER FORGET! pic.twitter.com/VxrGFRFeJM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019
According to The New York Times, the young congresswoman gave the speech to push back against Islamophobia stemming from 9/11. American Muslims “lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it,” she said in March.
Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.
Omar — who is the first Somali American woman in Congress — commented on the perpetrators stating that other Muslims were scapegoated because of the terrorists' faith and actions: “Because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.” The edited video utilized that statement to vilify the 37-year-old.
Democrats and others on the left saw this latest attack on a Black woman as one of the lowest moments of Trump's presidency. Critics called upon lawmakers and Democratic presidential candidates to come to her defense.
It goes without saying that #IStandWithIlhanOmar. And anyone who does not stands with @IlhanMN stands with Islamophobia, with racism, with politicians deploying lies to inflame racial and religious terror in the country. There is no middle ground in this struggle.
— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) April 13, 2019
There is no bottom. That orange cretin will continue to chip away at everything we used to hold dear in this country until there is nothing left. I’m sickened by the video he posted. If something happens to @IlhanMN it will be BECAUSE of him. #IStandWithIlhanOmar ✊????❤️ https://t.co/w3viqWohIK
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) April 13, 2019
This deliberately takes @IlhanMN’s words out of context and is a blatant attempt to incite violence against a Black muslim woman and member of Congress. That it was shared by 46-1 is beyond reprehensible.
He’s a racist, lowlife, piece of fecal matter.pic.twitter.com/s4uEbcsOAa
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) April 13, 2019
We stand with @IlhanMN. #IStandWithIlhan
pic.twitter.com/1t36QHz6Lb— Women's March (@womensmarch) April 13, 2019
Among the scores of defenders, members of the Jewish community and presidential hopefuls Julián Castro, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren condemned Trump for the apparent anti-Muslim attack.
I am grateful for @IlhanMN's courage and leadership and I stand with her – and with others targeted by the President's anti-Muslim rhetoric.
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) April 13, 2019
Shabbat shalom to @IlhanMN and our Black & Muslim family.
The attacks on you from the President are violent and unconscionable.
Our Jewish community has your back. We will not be silent. We will keep fighting for a world where your faith & your leadership are respected.
— Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) April 13, 2019
Ilhan Omar is a leader with strength and courage. She won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we. The disgusting and dangerous attacks against her must end.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 13, 2019
The President is inciting violence against a sitting Congresswoman—and an entire group of Americans based on their religion. It's disgusting. It's shameful. And any elected leader who refuses to condemn it shares responsibility for it.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 13, 2019
Members of Congress have a duty to respond to the President’s explicit attack today.@IlhanMN’s life is in danger. For our colleagues to be silent is to be complicit in the outright, dangerous targeting of a member of Congress.
We must speak out.
“First they came…” pic.twitter.com/ygOX1vhE9j
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 12, 2019
The latest online assault comes a week after the arrest of a New York man who made death threats toward Omar. Supporters fear the continued online harassment spearheaded by Trump will further endanger the 37-year-old's life.
Now, check these out:
Man Who Was Shot Alongside Nipsey Hussle To Be Jailed In Same Facility As Alleged Shooter Eric Holder
Georgetown University Students Believe The School Owes Reparations To Slavery Descendants
The Bloods And Crips United In A Monumental Peace Rally In The Wake Of Nipsey Hussle's Death
