Donald Trump has come under fire recently for his fearmongering around Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a young Congresswoman whose life is already threatened on a daily basis. Omar has been unafraid to point out the atrocities committed by the U.S. government on Middle Eastern Muslims, and Trump has been playing this up for a racist fanbase who is willing to buy right into it.
During interview w/ KSTP TV in Minnesota, Trump defended his reprehensible tweet about @IlhanMN: "She's been very disrespectful to this country… she is somebody that doesn't really understand life, real life… she's got a way about her that's very very bad for our country." pic.twitter.com/wiSNptg0F3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 16, 2019
After attaching photos and video of Rep. Omar to videos of the atrocities committed on September 11, 2001 (and with no matching video of the atrocities committed against Middle Eastern countries by the U.S. government), Trump was admonished by U.S. lawmakers for putting the freshman representative in danger. Trump, answering questions during an interview with a CBS affiliate in Minneapolis, said he has no regrets and doubled down on the comments.
‘She is somebody that doesn’t really understand, I think, life, real life, what it’s all about. It’s unfortunate — she’s got a way about her that’s very, very bad, I think, for our country.’
Self-awareness has never been Trump’s strong suit, but breaking down what he said makes the comment both infuriating and laughable. Ilhan Omar grew up in the wartorn country of Somalia, where she lost her mother at the age of two. Donald Trump grew up wealthy and was a millionaire himself by the age of two.
Who exactly doesn’t understand “real life”?
The “ways about her” that Trump references were veiled, but it’s clear to see what distinguishes her from the average member of Congress: she’s female, black, and a Muslim. In other words, people who aren’t white Christian men are dangerous.
Trump also referred to Omar in the interview as “disrespectful” to America. Trump isn’t above disrespecting the American government when it suits him to be. He was once challenged for his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent and murderer. Trump responded:
‘There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country’s so innocent?’
As for who is “bad for America,” perhaps Trump should visit a mirror sometime for a reason other than admiring his orange spray tan.
Twitter wasn’t pleased with Trump’s interview response, either. Read some of their comments below:
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
