President Donald Trump retweeted a xenophobic post about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Monday baselessly accusing the Muslim congresswoman, who was born in Somalia and became a U.S. citizen after arriving in the country as a refugee, of being “radicalized.”
“One thing Somalia definitely doesn’t need is more Somalis radicalized in Minneapolis,” tweeted David Reaboi — a self-described national security expert who has a history of peddling Islamophobic conspiracy theories — in response to Omar’s post about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deporting people in her district to Somalia. It’s unclear what kind of so-called radicalization Reoboi is referring to.
Trump retweeted Reaboi’s post and claimed, “I am helping Minnesota greatly” and that “OBiden,” presumably referring to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, “was a Minnesota disaster.”
Omar’s office did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.
Trump has frequently targeted Omar, the first Somali-born member of Congress and also the first to wear a hijab on Capitol Hill, with xenophobic and Islamophobic smears accusing her of being insufficiently loyal to the U.S. Last year, the President tweeted a racist tirade suggesting that she, along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MN), ought to “go back” to “the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” even though all four of them are U.S. citizens and all but Omar were born in the country.
The President also allowed his supporters to chant “send her back” as he was ranting about Omar during a rally last year.
