US Republican Congresswoman makes rare apology for 'jihad squad' comment about Ilhan Omar

US Republican Congresswoman makes rare apology for 'jihad squad' comment about Ilhan Omar
Far-right Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has offered a qualified apology to "the Muslim community" after calling fellow US Representative Ilhan Omar a "jihad squad member".
2 min read
27 November, 2021
Many refused to accept Boebert's apology, saying her comments about Ilhan Omar were unacceptable [Getty]

US Republican Representative Lauren Boebert apologised on Friday to the Muslim community after making "racist" remarks about Muslim-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar last week.

The far-right Colorado congresswoman tweeted her apology after a video circulated on social media showing her referring to Omar as a "jihad squad member" during a House of Representatives debate about censorship and hate speech.

Many people however refused to accept Boebert's apology, saying that her comments about Omar - the first Somali American elected to Congress - were unacceptable, with some accusing her of being insincere, especially because in the apology she stated that her comments had become an "unnecessary distraction" from policy differences.

"I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar. I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction," Boebert tweeted.

Many people replied saying that the apology was  "not accepted", or calling it a "cop out".

Political Campaign and Business Consultant Fred Wellman described her comments as "racist" and told her to "represent all Americans or get the hell out of office".

Ilhan Omar responded to the video on Friday in a tweet, stating "anti-Muslim bigotry isn’t funny & shouldn’t be normalized".

"Congress can’t be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation", Omar added.