Republican Congressional Candidate George Buck is receiving heavy backlash after suggesting in a fundraising email that Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born Democrat representing Minnesota, secretly works for the country of Qatar and should be gravely punished for it.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the email listed numerous “traitors” but never specified exactly who was meant by the label. The email also mentioned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and freshmen U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, along with Buck's opponent Rep. Charlie Crist.
“We should hang these traitors where they stand,” the email said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Following the statement, Buck began to get heavy pushback from his potential Republican colleagues.
"There's no place for inciting violence in politics," said House Minority Whip Steve Scalise in a statement. "Instead of doubling down on these disgraceful comments, the candidate ought to apologize unequivocally and denounce these unacceptable statements."
Even those who were among the potentially targeted Democrats began to call out the overstepping remarks.
“The fact that those who make these violent threats very publicly without hesitation reaffirms just how much white supremacy has spread within the @NRCC,” tweeted Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and ally of Omar who has also been targeted by Trump. “They are raising money on a call to hang a Black Muslim member of Congress and too many are silent.”
The fact that those who make these violent threats very publicly without hesitation reaffirms just how much white supremacy has spread within the @NRCC. They are raising money on a call to hang a Black Muslim member of Congress and too many are silent. @IlhanMN
https://t.co/VR92QvWh2z— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) December 4, 2019
While it is still unclear if the remarks will hurt Buck's campaign, the candidate has been removed as one of the Republican party’s “Young Guns." The National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program is a recruitment program that trains and supports candidates in competitive House races.
Following the backlash, Buck has attempted to distance himself from the email with the defense that, despite it holding his signature, he did not write the words that have him placed in the firestorm.
