UPDATE: Rep. Omar has challenged the accuracy of a translation of her remarks that were widely circulated in the media and featured in this article. Somali translators have also noted some errors in the initial translation. We have updated this article to remove several of those references. The Minnesota Reformer offers a translation of her remarks here.
It is time to expel Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from Congress and denaturalize and deport her, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday.
“Expel from Congress, denaturalize and deport!” DeSantis, a former Republican candidate for president, said on X on Tuesday. The remark was in reaction to a controversial video of the Muslim congresswoman speaking to American Somalians.
Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Family Leader’s Thanksgiving Family Forum, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Her comments prompted outrage among colleagues and others, some of whom said she should “resign in disgrace.”
Donald Trump Jr. weighed in, urging everyone to “listen to it all.”
“It’s not hyperbole when we say our representatives are putting America last,” he wrote:
Many commenters pointed out that Omar never appeared to refer to herself as an American — regarding her allegiance to Somalia as her priority throughout her remarks.
“We are people who know that they are Somali and Muslim,” she said.