President Trump on Monday lambasted Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar for accusing a pro-Israel lobbying group of buying lawmakers’ support for Israel, saying the congresswoman should be “ashamed.”
“I think she should be ashamed of herself. I think it was a terrible statement and I don’t think her apology was adequate,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to a rally in El Paso.
Omar, a freshman lawmaker from Minnesota, has been accused of making anti-Semitic statements, with the most recent coming Sunday night in response to a tweet from journalist Glenn Greenwald.
Greenwald criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for vowing to take action against Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who are both Muslim, for their criticisms of Israel.
“It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” Omar tweeted in response to Greenwald.
In a subsequent tweet responding to the editor of The Forward newspaper, Omar said it was “AIPAC!”, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, that was paying politicians to support Israel.
Omar’s tweets sparked intense outrage from lawmakers across the political spectrum, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said she was perpetuating an anti-Semitic trope.
She “unequivocally” apologized on Twitter for her comments later Monday.
“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,” she said in a statement. “My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.”
Trump said he didn’t believe Omar’s apology went far enough, but when pressed on what the congresswoman should say, the president said, “she knows what to say.”
