Trump Retweets Video Falsely Claiming Ilhan Omar Danced On 9/11 Anniversary
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – President Donald Trump is again attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar and predicting that he'll turn Minnesota red in the 2020 election.
On Wednesday morning, the president retweeted a video of a man admonishing the Minnesota congresswoman for allegedly dancing on the anniversary of 9/11. Later, however, the man deleted the tweet with the video after Omar pointed out that the footage was taken over the weekend, not on the anniversary of the terrorist attack.
As of writing, Trump has not deleted his comment on the man's video, which the president shared with his 64.4 million followers, saying: "Ilhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota. The new face of the Democratic Party!"
IIhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota. The new face of the Democrat Party! https://t.co/aQFEygSa4D
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 18, 2019
Omar responded to Trump's tweet Wednesday morning, saying that the video of her dancing to Lizzo's "Truth Hurts" was from a Congressional Black Caucus event over the weekend.
"The President of the United States is continuing to spread lies that put my life at risk," she tweeted. "What is Twitter doing to combat this misinformation?"
We couldn't celebrate #breakingconcreteceilings without jamming to my hometown girl @lizzo ???? https://t.co/zAXsGTkeeR
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 14, 2019
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN, released this statement Wednesday about the situation:
It is unconscionable that the president of the United States would so casually promote falsehoods that threaten the life of a member of Congress elected by the people of Minnesota. Action must be taken by Twitter against the president and the source of the false information.
Trump's tweet on Omar Wednesday comes following a week where her critics attacked her for a comment earlier this year where she described 9/11 with the words "some people did something."
During the 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City, a relative of a woman killed in the attack called out the Democrat from Minnesota.
"On that day, 19 Islamic terrorists of Al-Qaeda killed more than 3,000 people and caused billions of economic damage," Nicholas Haros Jr. said. "Is that clear?"
On Face the Nation, Omar was asked Sunday about her controversial remark and if she understood why some thought it was a flippant way to describe the terrorist attack. She responded by saying that 9/11 was an attack on all Americans, adding that in the aftermath the civil liberties of Muslims were violated.
Omar's controversial remark, made in March in an address to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was condemned at the time by her critics, although defenders said her words were taken out of context.
Over the past several months, Trump's Twitter feed has repeatedly attacked Omar and the rest of the progressive group of congresswomen of color known as "the squad."
In July, the president called the squad a "nightmare for America." A week before that, supporters at a Trump rally in North Carolina chanted "Send her back! Send her back!" as the president criticized Omar, who was born in Somali. Trump did nothing to stop the chant.
Trump has also predicted several times that he'll win Minnesota in the 2020 election. The claim has been made ever since he narrowly lost Minnesota in the 2016 election to Democrat Hillary Clinton.
A win by Trump in 2020 would be significant, as Minnesota hasn't voted red since 1972, when Richard Nixon smashed George McGovern, winning every state but Massachusetts.