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“I reserve the right to my time.”
A barrier-breaking congresswoman,
who made headlines just after a few months in office.
“Freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar —”
“The first Somali-American and the first
woman of color from Minnesota —”
Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar is in the spotlight
and she's getting attention from
across the political spectrum.
From President Donald Trump:
“Congressman Omar is terrible — what she said.”
To Democratic presidential contenders:
“If your question to me is, do I think
she is anti-Semitic?
No, I don't.”
”She does not deserve the kind of vicious, hate-filled
attacks that she's experiencing.”
So, who is she?
Omar was born in Somalia.
Her family fled during the civil war.
They were granted asylum in the U.S.
and eventually ended up in Minneapolis.
Omar went on to become a community organizer.
She got into politics a few years ago,
when she unseated a 44-year incumbent
in the State Legislature.
Omar was one of the first two Muslim women elected
to Congress.
“I stand here before you tonight
as your congresswoman-elect,
with many firsts behind my name.”
So, what are the issues that Omar
has brought attention to?
As a freshman in Congress,
Omar criticized the Trump administration's involvement
in Venezuela, supported the boycott Israel movement
and spoke out against family separation at the border.
“We say, not under our watch.”
But these days,
she's making news as a target of the president.
In March, Omar incorrectly stated that
a Muslim advocacy group
was created after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“They recognized that some people did something
and that all of us were starting to lose access
to our civil liberties.”
Trump went after Omar on Twitter,
sending out an edited video mixing
9/11 footage with her remarks,
implying she was playing down the attacks.
Omar says she received an increase in death threats
after Trump's tweet.
But this isn't the first time that Omar
has been on Trump's radar.
In February, Republicans called her anti-Semitic after tweets
that criticized Israel.
Omar apologized on Twitter,
but Trump still called for her resignation.
“I think she should either resign from Congress
or she should certainly resign from
the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”
And, he didn't let the scandal go.
“She doesn't like Israel, I forgot. I'm so sorry.”
So, what's next for Omar?
Some say that Omar has been
a political gift to Trump,
the ideal way to rally his conservative base.
And her comments about Israel have split support for her,
even in her own party.
But it's not making a dent in her fundraising.
Omar raised $832,000 in the first quarter of this year
for her re-election campaign.