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“Beyond weird”: Ilhan Omar says Trump has an “obsession” with her

The lawmaker called the president a "national embarrassment" after he went on a racist rant

National Affairs Fellow

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 28: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (C) speaks during a press conference at City Hall following a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on August 28, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to Minneapolis Police, a gunman fired through the windows of the Annunciation Church at worshippers sitting in pews during a Catholic school Mass, killing two children and injuring at least 17 others. The gunman reportedly died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 28: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (C) speaks during a press conference at City Hall following a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on August 28, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to Minneapolis Police, a gunman fired through the windows of the Annunciation Church at worshippers sitting in pews during a Catholic school Mass, killing two children and injuring at least 17 others. The gunman reportedly died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

After Donald Trump went on a tirade against the Democratic lawmaker at a rally in Pennsylvania, Rep. Ilhan Omar wondered if the president was obsessed with her.

Trump’s talk was supposed to speak on the state of the economy, but quickly veered onto windmills, European allies, and providing farmers with what he believes is “tariff money.” When Trump turned the conversation toward the Minnesota lawmaker he called the hijab she wears “her little turban.” Trump touted disproven conspiracy theories that Omar is “here illegally” and “married her brother.” He also called

“She comes in, does nothing but b**ch,” Trump said. “We oughta get her the hell out of here.”

Omar was quick to respond, calling Trump a “national embarrassment” in a post to X.

“Trump’s obsession with me is beyond weird. He needs serious help,” Omar wrote on X. “Since he has no economic policies to tout, he’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead.”


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Two Minnesota lawmakers came to Omar’s defense. Sen. Tina Smith called Omar “a strong woman who refuses to be bullied by Trump.”

“Obviously there’s something wrong with him,” Smith wrote on X.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar accused Trump of sewing “hate and division.”

“President Trump’s repeated wholesale attacks on Congresswoman Omar and Minnesota’s Somali-American community must stop,” Klobuchar said.

Last week, Trump went on a xenophobic tirade against Somali immigrants in the US, referring to them as “garbage.” Omar, who became a U.S. citizen in 2000 at age 17, was also subjected to his vitriol.

“She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people who work. These aren’t people who say, ‘Let’s go, come on, let’s make this place great,” Trump said.


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