Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali American and a member of the progressive “Squad” in Congress, is facing a backlash from conservatives over remarks she allegedly made about Somalia to an audience in Minneapolis.
A clip of her speech went viral on X, with a translation claiming that she said: “As Somalis, one day we will go after our missing territories.” Some commentators interpreted this as a reference to territories that Somalia claims in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, and accused her of putting Somalia’s interests before those of the United States.
Among the critics were Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative pundits Benny Johnson and Matt Walsh, who called for Omar to be expelled from Congress and deported to Somalia. DeSantis said Omar had broken her oath of office and her oath of American citizenship, and called her a “traitor”. Johnson said Omar should be deported “since she loves [Somalia] so much”. Walsh said Omar’s remarks should be “the final nail in the coffin of her political career and her residency in this country”.
Omar defended herself on X, saying that the translation of her speech was “not only slanted but completely off”. She said she was referring to the need for Somalia to have a stable and unified federal government, and that she stood in solidarity with Somalis in Somalia and in the diaspora. She also said that the U.S. drone program in Somalia was flawed and had killed thousands of innocent people, and urged the Pentagon to compensate the victims of a 2018 strike that killed a woman and her 4-year-old daughter.
Omar’s office also issued a statement, saying that the congresswoman “has always been a proud American who loves her country and her adopted home state of Minnesota”. The statement said that Omar was “deeply disturbed” by the “xenophobic and racist” attacks on her, and that she would continue to work for peace and justice in Somalia and around the world.
