Ilhan Omar Snaps at CNN Reporter for Asking Questions About AIPAC Controversy

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Wednesday snapped at Capitol Hill reporters when asked about her controversial statements regarding the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Asked for her thoughts on President Donald Trump calling on her to resign from Congress, Omar simply replied, “No thank you.”

Pressed for comment a second time by CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju, the Minnesota Democrat replied angrily: “Are you serious? What’s wrong with you?”

Raju then asked the freshman congresswoman about her Wednesday morning tweet in which she accused the president of trafficking in hate. “Yes I tweeted, and there’s a response. You can run that. Have a nice day,” she said while walking into a meeting.

Under pressure from Democrat and Republican leaders, Omar apologized on Monday for tweets suggesting AIPAC bribes Republican members of Congress to support Israel. “Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole,” she said in a statement. “We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity. This is why I unequivocally apologize.”

However, Omar concluded her statement with yet another shot at AIPAC, referring to its role in U.S. politics as “problematic.”

Ahead of a Tuesday Cabinet meeting at the White House, President Trump told reporters that he believes Omar should resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee or from Congress. “Anti-Semitism has no place in the United States Congress. And Congressman Omar, it’s terrible what she said and I think she should either resign from Congress or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” the president said. “What she said is so deep-seated in her heart that her lame apology, that’s what it was, it was lame and she didn’t mean a word of it, was just not appropriate.”

“I think she should resign from Congress frankly, but at a minimum, she shouldn’t be on committees, certainly that committee,” he added.