Former President Donald Trump, now 79, unleashed a fiery tirade on social media, demanding that Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar be imprisoned—or even deported—in a rant that has sparked widespread controversy. But here's where it gets even more shocking: Trump’s outburst came after Omar pointed out that Minnesota voters have rejected him in three separate elections, a fact that seems to have hit a nerve.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump made baseless claims linking Omar to an alleged $19 billion government benefits fraud scandal in Minnesota. And this is the part most people miss: Trump and his allies have repeatedly tried to pin this scandal on the state’s Somali community, a move many see as racially charged. Trump wrote, “There is 19 Billion Dollars in Minnesota Somalia Fraud. Fake ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar [sic], a constant complainer who hates the USA, knows everything there is to know.” He then escalated his attack, suggesting Omar should be “sent back to Somalia,” a country he’s previously dismissed as “barely a country.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has targeted Omar. For years, he’s repeatedly called for her deportation, despite her being a U.S. citizen who fled Somalia’s civil war as a child. In 2019, he infamously told Omar and three other Congresswomen of color—Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley—to “go back” to where they came from, a comment widely condemned as racist.
Omar, a vocal critic of Trump and his policies, has not held back. She recently slammed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good by an ICE agent, calling it “murder.” In an interview with MS Now, she emphasized, “The lawful actions and the intimidation that is coming from this lawless administration is not going to stop us from knowing that we have the Constitution on our side.”
Trump’s weekend posts didn’t stop at fraud allegations. He also pushed unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about Omar’s family, falsely claiming she married her brother, and linked her to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the fraud cases. He wrote, “Is this really what Minnesota wants? The crooked Governor and ‘Congresswoman’ Omar… don’t mind because it keeps the focus of attention off the 18 Billion Dollar, Plus, FRAUD, that has taken place in the State!”
Here’s the controversial question: Is Trump’s relentless targeting of Omar a reflection of his political strategy, or does it reveal deeper biases? And what does it say about the state of political discourse when such attacks go unchallenged by his supporters?
The Daily Beast has reached out to Omar’s office for comment, but one thing is clear: this feud is far from over. What’s your take? Do Trump’s comments cross the line, or is he simply exercising his right to free speech? Let us know in the comments below.
