Trump Says Rep. Ilhan Omar Can’t Challenge Him On Constitution Because She’s ‘From Somalia’

Americans really should be more ashamed that their beloved nation elected, for a second time, a commander in chief who is fundamentally unable to engage with the media without sounding like the racist uncles at Caucasian Thanksgiving dinners we keep hearing about.

Trump recently sat down with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham and launched into a rant about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that one could imagine him shouting from the head of the family table with a turkey leg in his hand and his pot belly exposed.

“I look at somebody that comes from Somalia, where they don’t have anything – they don’t have police, they don’t have military, they don’t have anything, all they have is crime – and [Omar] comes in and tells us how to run our country!” Trump bloviated.

Even if we were to set aside the fact that Omar hasn’t lived in Somalia since she was 9 years old and has been a legal resident of the United States since she was 12, this is still an odd thing for a president to say about a congressperson. It’s literally Omar’s job to legislate based on the very Constitution Trump is out here mocking her for citing when criticizing his policies.

And that’s the way America would view this interview if Omar weren’t a Muslim Black woman, or a Black woman at all, for that matter.

As much contempt as Republicans have for the white men in the Democratic Party, they’d never question their congressional authority based on their nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. It wouldn’t even come up because, in America, a white man’s authority is automatically assumed.

After all, it’s not like Omar is the only legislator to say Trump abuses his power. Just last month, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) spent nearly 23 hours on the Senate floor calling Trump an authoritarian wannabe dictator who wouldn’t recognize constitutionality if it crossed over the border illegally right in front of him. (I’m, uh — I’m largely paraphrasing Merkley.)

Trump probably had a lot of unflattering things to say about the good senator after his marathon speech, but I bet none of them began with: “I look at somebody that comes from war-ravaged Portland, where they don’t have anything — they don’t have police, they don’t have military because judges keep telling me I can’t send it there — they don’t have anything, all they have is crime. And Merkley comes in and tells us how to run our country!”

Republicans claim they don’t play identity politics when, in reality, it’s all they do. That’s why they can so casually talk about NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani like he’s a 9/11 co-conspirator, despite the fact that when the terrorist attack happened, Mamdani was around the same age Omar was when her family left Somalia.

But, again, it’s also about Omar being a Black woman.

You might have noticed that during the part of Trump’s interview where he rants about Omar, Fox News ran a chyron that read: ” TRUMP: CROCKETT IS VERY LOW IQ.” That’s a reference to the numerous times the president has taken shots at the intelligence of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), including the time he challenged her IQ while mistaking his MRI exam for an IQ test.

Trump can call Black women like Crockett and former VP Kamala Harris low IQ with impunity for the same reason congressional leaders can make remarks about Crockett’s personal appearance and challenge her to a physical fight, and still have leftover caucasity to remark that she’s not Black enough because she’s too educated. Trump can dismiss Omar based on her ethnic background and tell her to go back where she came from for the same reason congressional leaders can repeatedly threaten to deport her and refer to her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) as the “Jihad squad” with no significant consequences.

Racism, xenophobia, and misogynoir are baked into the fabric of America. White supremacy is this nation’s default. And the current president, administration and GOP are a reflection of that.

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