Rep. Ilhan Omar is being criticized by a fellow Minnesota Democrat who says she “doesn’t belong in our party.”
“I don’t defend her. She doesn’t belong in our party,” Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, who represents Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, said when asked about Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th District.
“She doesn’t belong in our party,” Peterson, who is running for reelection in rural western Minnesota, repeated when asked to clarify before walking away without further comment.
Peterson’s comments appear to represent a change of heart since April, when he attempted to defend Omar’s controversial interpretation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks as “some people did something.”
“I think she was trying to say that some people in her community feel like they’re being targeted,” Peterson said at the time.
Omar has become a polarizing figure in Minnesota politics after calling for the disbanding of the Minneapolis Police Department earlier this year in response to the death of George Floyd and also pushing for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Omar has also been an outspoken critic of President Trump, who carried every county in Peterson’s district in 2016, and just this week referred to him as a “racist tyrant.”
