Washington – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Sunday that she has taken steps to ensure the safety of Rep. Ilhan Omar following President Donald Trump’s retweet of a video that purports to show the Minnesota Democrat being dismissive of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
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The California Democrat also called on Trump to take down the video.
Pelosi was among Democrats who had criticized Trump over the tweet, with some accusing him of trying to incite violence against the Muslim lawmaker who has already seen one upstate New York man face criminal charges for making death threats against her.
The White House defended Trump earlier Sunday, saying the president has a duty to highlight Omar’s history of making comments that others find offensive and that he wished no “ill will” upon the first-term lawmaker.
Pelosi, who was traveling in London, issued a statement saying she had spoken with congressional authorities after Trump’s tweet “to ensure that Capitol Police are conducting a security assessment to safeguard Congresswoman Omar, her family and her staff.”
“They will continue to monitor and address the threats she faces,” the speaker said. She called on Trump to discourage such behavior.
“The President’s words weigh a ton, and his hateful and inflammatory rhetoric creates real danger,” Pelosi said. “President Trump must take down his disrespectful and dangerous video.”
The video in Trump’s tweet included a snippet from a recent speech Omar gave to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in which she described the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center as “some people did something,” along with news footage of the hijacked airplanes hitting the Twin Towers. Trump captioned his tweet with: “WE WILL NEVER FORGET!”
Critics accuse Omar of offering a flippant description of the assailants behind the attack that killed nearly 3,000 people. She later sought to defend herself by tweeting a quote from President George W. Bush. Days after 9/11, the Republican president referred to the attackers as “people.”
Neither Trump’s tweet nor the video included Omar’s full quote or the context of her comments, which were about Muslims feeling that their civil liberties had eroded after the attacks. The tweet continued to lead Trump’s Twitter feed on Sunday, with more than 9 million views.
Sanders questioned why Democrats weren’t following Trump’s example and calling out Omar, too. Democrats who criticized the president over the tweet defended Omar. Some also noted their past disagreements with her.
“Certainly the president is wishing no ill will and certainly not violence towards anyone, but the president is absolutely and should be calling out the congresswoman for her not only one time but history of anti-Semitic comments,” Sanders said. “The bigger question is why aren’t Democrats doing the same thing? It’s absolutely abhorrent the comments that she continues to make and has made and they look the other way.”
Omar repeatedly has pushed fellow Democrats into uncomfortable territory with comments about Israel and the strength of the Jewish state’s influence in Washington. She apologized for suggesting that lawmakers support Israel for pay and said she isn’t criticizing Jews. But she refused to take back a tweet in which she suggested American supporters of Israel “pledge allegiance” to a foreign country.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat whose constituents include Manhattan’s financial district, which was targeted on Sept. 11, 2001, said he had no issues with Omar’s characterization of the attack.
“I have had some problems with some of her other remarks, but not — but not with that one,” he said.
The Democrats are digging their own grave. They dont ask omar ysv to apologize for her insensitive comment. Instead, they ask President Trump to take down his post. 9/11 is a very sensitive part of American history. And when the speaker takes the side of some idiot freshman that literally steps on the ashes of the victims, people are not going to forgive or forget this. Also, it is a total disrespectful to the victims to politicise 9/11.
A man was driving down the highway when he noticed a state trooper trying to pull him over. He sped away. When the state trooper caught up to him, he said “Son, it’s been a long day. If you can tell me one good excuse that I haven’t heard before, you’re free to go.”
The man replied “I’m sorry, but my wife ran off with a state trooper and I thought you were bringing her back.”
“You’re out of luck then” said the trooper.
“Why?”, asked the man. “Has someone else told you this?”
“No”, the trooper replied. “Sally’s in the back.
Hey, Nancy, you should be much more worried that omar y’s and the other anti semites in your party, are inciting people against Jews! And to any Jew still stupid enough to vote democrat, if this doesn’t convince you that top dems are going along with the anti semites, you’re shameless!
It would be nice if the trump voting so called frumme woman in Flatbush/5 Town/Mosey etc would be 1/2 as Tzniusdig that this Ilhan Omar lady. Maybe its time to learn from her.
How come no one asked Omar to remove the David Duke video?
It certainly seems wise to ensure this member of Congress has additional security.
Time for Nancy to go-she no longer should represent the Democratic party- Is she converting to Islam anytime soon? Maybe this is her own internal feelings towards Jew that can finally come out in the open. She supports a hateful Muslim-hmmm one wonders.