President Donald Trump, who tweeted a wildly misleading video about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) comments about 9/11, is continuing to attack the congresswoman even as death threats against her pour in.
“She’s been very disrespectful to this country,” Trump told KSTP about Omar on Tuesday. “She’s been very disrespectful, frankly, to Israel. 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 for our country.”
Trump has a history of Islamophobic and racist rhetoric and policies, including a ban on people entering the U.S. from several Muslim-majority countries. He has also repeated a lie numerous times over the years that he saw “thousands” of Muslim Americans in New Jersey celebrating after the 9/11 attacks. He defended his position in 2015 by telling NBC’s Chuck Todd that he “saw it on television.” He didn’t.
On Friday, Trump tweeted a video of Omar making comments about how the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was formed after 9/11 “because they recognized that some people did something.” The video then cuts to footage of the burning twin towers.
“WE WILL NEVER FORGET!” Trump’s caption reads.
Omar’s office said they were inundated with death threats against the congresswoman following the post. As of Tuesday, the threats have continued to saturate social media.
“Since the President’s tweet Friday evening, I have experienced an increase in direct threats on my life ― many directly referencing or replying to the President’s video,” Omar said in a statement Sunday. “I thank the Capitol Police, the FBI, the House Sergeant at Arms, and the Speaker of the House for their attention to these threats.”
When asked if Trump had any “second thoughts” about his tweet, Trump said “No, not at all.”
As the president pretends to have the moral high-ground on all things 9/11, it’s worthwhile to note that Trump falsely bragged about having the tallest building in Manhattan just hours after the twin towers fell.