Trump claims Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar wants to corrupt 'our country' in racist rally rant

Trump claims Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar wants to corrupt 'our country' in racist rally rant
US President Donald Trump has made yet more racist attacks against Somali-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
3 min read
22 June, 2020
Ilhan Omar has been subjected to yet more racism [Getty]
US President Donald Trump has reiterated racist attacks against Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, despite knowing his previous slurs led her to receiving death threats.

Speaking at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Trump censured his political opponents and made racist comments against Omar, claiming she is seeking to corrupt “our country.”

"Omar is going to be very much involved in a Biden government," Trump said. "They will put this hate-filled, America-bashing socialist front and centre in deciding the fate of your family and deciding the fate of your country. I don’t think so."

He then claimed the hijab-clad Somali-American has an agenda to infiltrate Washington to turn the US into the “country from which she came.”

"She would like to make the government of our country just like the country from where she came - Somalia. No government, no safety, no police, no nothing, just anarchy. And now, she's telling us how to run our country. No, thank you."

Read more: Using Israel to justify his racist attacks, Trump sets a dangerous precedent 

Trump’s comments came during widespread protests calling for racial and social justice as activists say institutional racism has caused the death of innocent Black civilians across the country.

The comments also came despite being aware of Omar last year receiving death threats as a result of Trump’s racially aggravating comments.

Death threats

Last August, she shared via her Twitter page the image of a chilling death threat which she received.

The message, typed on a single piece of A4 paper, said Omar would be killed at the Minnesota State Fair, by a "very capable person with a very big 'Gun'".

The Democratic Congresswoman said that such threats are the reason she has a bodyguard with her despite her unease at the concept of personal security.

"I hate that we live in a world where you have to be protected from fellow humans," Omar wrote in the tweet.

"But until deranged people like this stop threatening my life and the lives of others, I have to accept the reality of having security."

Prior to the threat, Omar suffered racist attacks by Trump, including one tweet when he told left-leaning Democrat politicians to "go back" to their "corrupt and inept" countries.

Although he did not mention Omar by name, most people viewed the tweet to be directed at the Somali-born Democrat, among others he has publicly attacked.

At the time, Omar said that she receives more death threats when Trump publically berates her.

Omar one of the first two Muslim congresswomen - along with Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib - elected in 2018 and the first to wear a hijab on the House floor.

Omar has been at the forefront of promoting progressive policies, including the defunding and reconstruction of the Minneapolis Police Department.

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