Ilhan Omar fires back after Trump’s Constitution dig: ‘Unlike you, I can read’
In a recent exchange of barbs, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has responded to President Donald Trump’s ongoing criticisms regarding her understanding of the U.S. Constitution. This feud, which dates back to Trump’s first term, has intensified in recent weeks, particularly after Trump suggested that Omar should return to Somalia, her country of birth. The tension escalated when the White House posted a satirical image on social media of Trump waving goodbye from a McDonald’s drive-thru, a response to Omar’s assertion that she was not concerned about being deported. In a pointed retort, Omar took to X (formerly Twitter) to assert her constitutional knowledge, stating, “Unlike you, I can read and that’s why I know what the Constitution says.”
Trump’s comments, while not directly naming Omar, included remarks about her background and her ability to critique American governance. In a Fox News interview, he claimed, “I look at somebody who comes from Somalia where they don’t have anything… and she comes in and tells us how to run our country.” Omar’s response to Trump’s insinuations was firm; she dismissed the idea of deportation as a “scary threat,” highlighting her journey from a war-torn childhood to becoming a U.S. Congresswoman. “I’m not the 8-year-old who escaped war anymore,” she emphasized, underscoring her resilience and growth. Furthermore, Trump’s previous claims about speaking with Somalia’s leadership regarding her deportation were met with skepticism from Omar, who labeled him a “lying buffoon” and urged the public not to take him seriously.
Omar’s journey is particularly noteworthy; her family fled Somalia during the civil war in 1991, eventually receiving asylum in the United States. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 2000, she made history as the first Somali-American woman elected to Congress in 2018. This context amplifies her rebuttals against Trump’s jabs, as they not only reflect personal attacks but also touch on broader themes of immigration, identity, and the American experience. As the exchanges continue, they highlight the deepening divisions in American politics, particularly around issues of race, nationality, and the interpretation of the Constitution. The ongoing clash between Omar and Trump serves as a microcosm of the larger cultural and political battles shaping the nation today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX9dXpdhKUU
Rep.
Ilhan Omar
, D-Minn., struck back at President
Donald Trump
after he took a swipe at her understanding of the Constitution.
While the two have gone head-to-head for years dating back to Trump’s first term, they have reignited their longstanding quarrel in recent weeks as Trump has suggested she should return to Somalia, where she was born. Omar’s comment comes a day after the
White House shared an image
on X of Trump waving goodbye through a McDonald’s drive-thru window in 2024, replying to a video of Omar saying she wasn’t uneasy about being deported.
On Tuesday, Omar took a jab at Trump in response to a video where he questioned her Constitutional knowledge.
“Unlike you, I can read and that’s why I know what
the constitution
says,” Omar said in a post on X.
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Although Trump did not mention Omar by name, Trump took a shot at Omar as he criticized other Democrats like Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas in a Monday interview with Fox News.
“I look at somebody who comes from Somalia where they don’t have anything, they don’t have police, they don’t have military, they don’t have anything. All they have is crime,” Trump said in the clip. “And she comes in and tells us how to run our country. ‘The Constitution says this, the Constitution says that.’ The whole thing is crazy.”
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“I have no worry, I don’t know how they’d take away my citizenship and like deport me,” Omar said in the clip the White House responded to, which originally was made on “The Dean Obeidallah Show” in October. “But I don’t even know like why that’s such a scary threat. Like I’m not the 8-year-old who escaped war anymore. I’m grown, my kids are grown. Like I could go live wherever I want.”
Trump has repeatedly indicated that Omar should return to Somalia, but told reporters in September that Somalia didn’t want her back.
“You know, I met the head of Somalia, did you know that?” Trump said. “And I suggested that maybe he’d like to take her back. He said, ‘I don’t want her.’”
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However, Omar said that the story was not true.
“From denying Somalia had a president to making up a story, President Trump is a lying buffoon,” Omar said. “No one should take this embarrassing fool seriously.”
Omar’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
When asked for comment about Omar’s statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital: “President Trump is right.”
Omar’s family fled Somalia for a refugee camp in Kenya during the Somalian Civil War in 1991. The U.S. granted her family asylum, and they lived in Arlington, Virginia, starting in 1995. The congresswoman obtained citizenship in the United States in the year 2000.
She was elected to Minnesota’s House of Representatives in 2016 and then in 2018 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the first Somali–American woman and one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress.
Eric
Eric is a seasoned journalist covering US Politics news.
