President Donald Trump on Monday attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar with harsh words during an Oval Office press conference. He suggested that immigrants from East Africa helped bring her into office in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. He then went further, calling her a “loser” and a “disgusting person.”
“I think she’s a disgraceful person, a loser,” Trump told reporters. “I know it’s people from her area of the world, they got here and they vote her in. It’s hard to believe. I think she’s a disgusting person.”
His remarks quickly sparked anger on social media. Many users described the comments as another example of “hateful rhetoric” and “dehumanizing language.” Omar, a Somali-American lawmaker, represents a district of about 700,000 people in Minnesota. According to Census Reporter figures from 2023, the district is 61% white, 17% Black and 10% Hispanic.
The criticism against Omar has been ongoing and comes at a particularly tense time. Republicans and conservative commentators have been calling for public employees, teachers, and media figures to be punished or removed for what they see as disrespectful comments following the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Some accused Omar of showing little sympathy for Kirk’s death, though she did offer condolences.
Speaking at Zeteo Town Hall event last week, Omar opened by addressing Kirk’s family. “All I could think about was his wife, his children, that image is going to live forever,” she said. Still, she shifted the discussion toward Kirk’s history and his controversial views.
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“But what I do know for sure is that Charlie Kirk was someone who once said, ‘Guns save lives’ after a school shooting,” Omar explained. “Charlie was someone who was willing to debate and downplay the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police … downplay slavery and what Black people have gone through in this country by saying Juneteenth should never exist.”
Omar added that many people now claim Kirk “just wanted to have a civil debate.” Journalist Mehdi Hasan, who joined her on stage, cut in to say that such claims amounted to a “complete rewriting of history.”
Kirk died after being shot while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University last Wednesday. His death has set off a wave of political disputes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly targeted military service members who made comments online about the incident.
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Some members of the armed forces were dismissed, and others faced disciplinary action over social media posts. Across the country, at least a dozen educational staff have been suspended, fired, or investigated for making remarks considered insensitive.
Legal experts have warned that this type of punishment is legally fragile. Stanford Law scholar Eric A. Baldwin described it as “political theater” driven largely by Trump and Republicans. “It has done damage by making people fear for their livelihood on the basis of any statement they may make,” Baldwin said.
He stressed that the First Amendment protects public employees, including government and military personnel, from being disciplined for political opinions. “If any institution attempted to enforce such punishment, lawsuits would be filed immediately,” he added.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump UNLEASHES on Rep. Ilham Omar, of Somalia. Deport her next.
“I think she’s a disgraceful person. A LOSER. It’s amazing the way people vote…It’s hard to believe. But I think she’s a disgusting person.” pic.twitter.com/yumyAN6CB5
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 15, 2025
The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed the details of the internal probe but pointed to social media comments from Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell. “It is unacceptable for military personnel and Department of War civilians, to celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American. The Department of War has zero tolerance for it,” Parnell wrote on X.
Omar responded online to renewed Republican demands for her resignation, and in some extreme cases, deportation. “To those claiming they’re for free speech while punishing and silencing those for exercising that right: You’re not pro-free speech,” she posted on X.
The truth isn’t xenophobic, it’s the truth