Heading to Minnesota, Donald Trump attacks freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar
WASHINGTON – Before taking off Monday for Minnesota, President Donald Trump again attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minneapolis and one of the first two Muslim-American women to serve in the U.S. Congress.
On Twitter, Trump also criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for defending Omar, saying she "should look at the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and ungrateful U.S. HATE statements Omar has made. She is out of control, except for her control of Nancy!"
Omar, Pelosi and other Democrats said Trump's frequent attacks on the freshman congresswoman from Minnesota smack of being anti-Muslim, and are spiking death threats against Omar.
Who is Rep. Ilhan Omar? What to know about the Muslim lawmaker Donald Trump loves to attack
Saying threats have escalated since Trump backers used her comments in a 2020 campaign video, Omar tweeted this weekend: "We are all Americans. This is endangering lives. It has to stop."
Trump's latest attacks came hours before he left for Minnesota, where he is scheduled to hold an economic policy event related Monday's deadline for tax filings.
Trump narrowly lost Minnesota to Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Trump aides see it as a state he can wrest from the Democrats in 2020.
Before Nancy, who has lost all control of Congress and is getting nothing done, decides to defend her leader, Rep. Omar, she should look at the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and ungrateful U.S. HATE statements Omar has made. She is out of control, except for her control of Nancy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2019
We are all Americans. This is endangering lives. It has to stop. pic.twitter.com/gwB2kDUIRp
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) April 15, 2019
9/11 video: AOC, others blast Trump over 9/11 video, comments about Rep. Omar
'Endangering lives': Ilhan Omar says Trump tweet caused spike in death threats
Last week, Trump posted a 43-second campaign video that included footage of the World Trade Center after hijacked planes slammed into it on Sept. 11, 2001, linking it to Omar's comments describing the attack as "something" done by "some people."
Omar's colleagues said she was differentiating terrorists from nearly all other Muslims. They condemned Trump for turning the trauma of 9/11 into a political attack.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is planning a protest outside the venue for Trump's event, a trucking and equipment company in Burnsville, near the Twin Cities.
Pelosi, meanwhile, said "the president’s words weigh a ton, and his hateful and inflammatory rhetoric creates real danger ... President Trump must take down his disrespectful and dangerous video.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heading to Minnesota, Donald Trump attacks freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar
