Both the president and the vice president of the United States reprimanded Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for recent anti-Semitic comments and called for her to face consequences.
“[Omar’s] tweets were a disgrace & her apology was inadequate. Anti-Semitism has no place in the United States Congress, much less the Foreign Affairs Committee,” U.S. Vice President Mike Pence tweeted on Tuesday. “Those who engage in anti-Semitic tropes should not just be denounced, they should face consequences for their words.”
Pence’s chastisement came after Omar responded to a tweet supporting her right to make anti-Israel statements on Twitter with her own tweet saying it’s “all about the Benjamins baby,” and implied that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was using money to motivate American politicians to be pro-Israel and to deter them from taking anti-Israel positions.
President Donald Trump backed Pence’s statement, calling Omar’s apology after the incident “lame, and she didn’t mean a word of it” during a Cabinet meeting. He also said, “I think she should either resign from Congress or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”
In her apology, Omar stated that her “intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.”
After facing a firestorm of criticism on social media and a public rebuke by House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Ilhan continued to retweet Twitter posts asserting that Congress members were hesitant to be anti-Israel because of their desire to access donations from AIPAC supporters.
Omar’s anti-Israel position became evident as early as 2012, during which she tweeted that “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
