President Donald Trump went on a racist tirade during a rally on Tuesday, repeating his controversial “s**thole countries” remark about Haiti and African nations and singling out Somalis for his bigoted attacks. He also again attacked the only Somali American woman in Congress, this time drawing a response from the Minnesota congresswoman.
Congresswoman calls out Trump’s ‘obsession’ with her
“Trump’s obsession with me is beyond weird. He needs serious help,” Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota posted on X Tuesday evening. “Since he has no economic policies to tout, he’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead,” Omar wrote, in reference to a rally Trump held in Pennsylvania Tuesday in which he detoured from his economic message to launch racist attacks against Somalis in the United States. “He continues to be a national embarrassment,” Omar, the first Somali American to be elected to Congress, wrote.
Trump’s latest unhinged rant against Omar, Somalis
Omar’s comments came in response to a segment of Trump’s Tuesday speech in which he again singled out the congresswoman. “I love this Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is, with her little turban,” Trump said, acting as if he does not know the name of the Minnesota Democrat who has been a frequent target of the president’s racist and Islamophobic attacks. “She comes in, does nothing but bitch, she’s always complaining.” Trump said before attacking Somalia, Omar’s birth country, calling it “about the worst country in the world.” After a series of bigoted remarks about Somalia, Trump repeated a right-wing conspiracy theory about Omar to make unfounded claims that “she’s here illegally.” Trump said, “We ought to get her the hell out,” sparking chants of “send her back” from the crowd.
Trump attacks against prominent women, people of color
Omar has been a target of Trump during both his administrations, as has the Somali community. Trump has stepped up his racist rhetoric against Somalis in recent weeks to support his latest round of restrictive immigration policies against so-called “Third World” countries. Trump has repeatedly attacked women in politics and journalism, and has often attacked women of color in Congress such as Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas. Crockett used audio of Trump’s attacks against her in the video announcing her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
As Trump continues to rally his base and attempts to deflect from various controversies and criticisms surrounding his current term, he will likely continue his tactic of attacking Black women like Crockett and Omar. As Omar’s recent social media post indicates, Trump’s targets are ready to call out the president over his obsession with them and hold him accountable for his bigoted comments.