AOC defends Ilhan Omar for describing 9/11 as 'some people did something' and is criticized for telling former US Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw 'to go do something about domestic terror'
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended Rep. Ilhan Omar Thursday for describing the Sept. 11th attacks as 'some people did something' before being criticized for telling former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw to 'go do something about domestic terror'.
Omar made the comment at a recent speech at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
She called for an end to discrimination against Muslims, then said: 'CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.'
Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw attacked her remarks on Twitter and tweeted out a short excerpt. Fox News host Brian Kilmeade questioned whether she was 'an American first'.
Ocasio-Cortez hit out at Crenshaw on Twitter for using 'out-of-context quotes' to go after Omar - and also referenced the front page of Thursday's New York Post which attacked the Minnestota freshman Congresswoman.
The New York Post even went as far as to splash a photograph one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing in a ball of flames, with the banner: 'Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 was "some people did something"'
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y, defended Omar after her comments that referenced the Sept. 11th attacks
'You refuse to cosponsor the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund, yet have the audacity to drum resentment towards Ilhan w/completely out-of-context quotes,' she wrote.
'In 2018, right-wing extremists were behind almost ALL US domestic terrorist killings. Why don't you go do something about that?' she added.
But AOC faced a fierce backlash on Twitter by users who pointed out she was criticizing a veteran.
Caleb Hull asked: 'Are you aware that you're speaking to a veteran who lost his eye in combat?'
Another user wrote: 'Peak @AOC Telling a combat veteran that lost his eye FIGHTING terrorists in AFGHANISTAN to "do something" to help against terrorism.'
Kambree Kawahine Koa added: 'When was AOC a combat war hero? Oh wait, never.'
In Omar's full quote, she said: 'Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, and frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it.
'CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.'
Ocasio-Cortez took on Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), who had blasted Omar's comments and circulated a short clip
AOC faced a fierce backlash on Twitter by users who pointed out she was criticizing a veteran. Pictured: Dan Crenshaw earlier this month
Caleb Hull asked: 'Are you aware that you're speaking to a veteran who lost his eye in combat?'
She also added in the speech: 'As an American member of Congress, I have to make sure I live up to the ideals of fighting for liberty and justice — those are very much rooted in the reason why my family came here,' and spoke about emigrating to the U.S. as a child who lived in a Somali refugee camp.
Republicans blasted Omar, one of the first two Republican women in Congress, for the remark, accusing her of dismissing the attacks, which left 2,977 people dead.
The New York Post even went as far as to splash a photograph one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing in a ball of flames, with the banner: 'Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 was 'some people did something.'
Omar hit out at the 'double standards' she suffers, telling The Late Show host Stephen Colbert that she is 'as American as everyone else,' and has suffered from anti-Muslim discrimination.
Last week, New York authorities arrested a man for allegedly threatening to 'put a bullet in her [expletive] skull.'
Defending her right to speak freely, she told Colbert: 'I took an oath - I took an oath to the Constitution. I am as American as everyone else is.'
Rep Ilhan Omar appeared on the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night to tackle some of her many recent controversies
Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, told Colbert that she believes she is held to a double standard because she is a woman of color
Omar also told Colbert that when others accuse the Trump administration of white nationalism 'no one bats an eye,' but when she does it it provokes the ire right-wing press.
The Minnesota congresswoman was specifically referring to her most recent controversy, in which she was attacked by Donald Trump for calling his senior adviser Stephen Miller a white nationalist.
'Stephen Miller is a white nationalist. The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage,' she tweeted on Monday.
Her tweet caught the attention of Trump, who claimed that Omar was targeting Jewish people – a claim that has been lobbied by many on the far-right since her term began.
Colbert noted that he has called Miller a white nationalist multiple times on his own show without ever receiving any criticism of the sort.
'I think because you're a Muslim, you're a woman, you're a person of color, you're given less latitude then someone like me,' he said.
'I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, I am as American as everyone else is. And this kind of double standard is really quite offensive,' she told Colbert
Omar said that when a congressman had called Miller a white supremacist last year 'no one batted an eye'.
Adding: 'And you see this outrage when I speak the truth. Everyone else's truth is allowed, but my truth can never be.'
Omar has provoked scathing criticism from right-wing commentators, including Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, who questioned whether she was 'an American first'.
Fox host Brian Kilmeade later clarified his statement on Twitter, writing: 'I didn't intend to question whether Rep. Omar is an American - I am questioning how any American, let alone a United States Congresswoman, could downplay the 9/11 attacks.'
I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, I am as American as everyone else
'I expect my colleagues to also say: 'That's not okay', they should condone that and call that out,' Omar told Colbert.
'Or when people call me a terrorist or when people say that because I am Muslim and an immigrant and a refugee that I can't have loyalty to our country.'
'I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, I am as American as everyone else is. And this kind of double standard is really quite offensive, and it's very much embedded in our culture these days.'
Her tweet caught the attention of Trump, who claimed that Omar was targeting Jewish people - a claim that has been lobbied by many on the far-right
When Colbert asked Omar why she believed she had become a 'lightning rod' for both right-wing media and some fellow Democrats, the congresswoman said the answer was merely her identity.
'If you think about historically where our nation is right now, there are many members of our community, their identities are lightning rods,' she said.
'They're being used as political football - immigrants, refugees, women of color, people of color, minorities, Muslims. I happen to embody all of those identities, so it's easy for this to be kind of self-explanatory.'
Omar issued a swift rebuttal on Twitter, and also noted to Colbert how no one 'batted an eye' when a congressman said the same thing a year prior
The Minnesota congresswoman recently came under fire from the far-right for calling Stephen Miller a white nationalist
Omar also spoke of a recent Fox News segment in which host Brian Kilmeade questioned if she was 'an American first', saying she expected her colleagues to come out in her defense
Fox host Brian Kilmeade later clarified his statement on Twitter, writing: 'I didn't intend to question whether Rep. Omar is an American - I am questioning how any American, let alone a United States Congresswoman, could downplay the 9/11 attacks'
AOC defends Ilhan Omar for describing 9/11 as 'some people did something' and is criticized for telling former US Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw 'to go do something about domestic terror'
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April 12, 2019
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April 12, 2019
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