Ocasio-Cortez Slams Trump, Defends Rep. Omar After Controversial Tweets
  • 5 years ago
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday slammed President Trump and defended Representative Ilhan Omar, who is under fire for tweets many have declared anti-Semitic.

  Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday slammed President Trump, who called for the resignation of freshman Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar amid controversy over her recent social media posts that many have deemed anti-Semitic.  "Unlike this President, Rep. @IlhanMN demonstrated a capacity to acknowledge pain & apologize, use the opportunity to learn abt history of antisemitism,+grow from it while clarifying her stance," Ocasio-Cortez said via Twitter. "I'm also inspired by Jewish leadership who brought her in, not push her out, to heal." She also included an excerpt from an article on the topic written by Peter Beinart and published in The Forward. 
It read: "If you denounce Ilhan Omar but support Donald Trump, you don't really oppose bigotry. You don't even really oppose anti-Semitism. What you oppose is criticism of Israel."  Notably, Omar's tweets in question suggested that US political allies of Israel are more motivated by money than principles and drew rebukes from both Democrats and Republicans.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders condemned Omar's comments, with Pelosi also noting: "In our conversation today, Congresswoman Omar and I agreed that we must use this moment to move forward as we reject anti-Semitism in all form."  "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," Omar stated in her apology. "My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. I unequivocally apologize." 
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