I recently came across a social media post in which Rep. Ilhan Omar attacks President Trump for having “trafficked in hate your whole life” and also claims, “I learned from people impacted by my words.”
I dispute both of these statements.
First of all, how, exactly, has Trump “trafficked in hate”? Which of his public statements and policy positions constitute “trafficking in hate,” exactly? Because I can’t think of any.
Additionally, Omar claims to have learned from people impacted by her words. So she’s publicly condemned the tearing down, removal, and vandalism of statues of Christopher Columbus and people who fought for the Confederacy? She’s advocated that the people who tore down these statues be severely punished, that the statues be put back in their rightful places, and that the people harmed by these actions be financially compensated? She’s advocated that Indigenous Peoples’ Day be abolished, and that the second Monday in October return to being celebrated as Columbus Day in every city, town, and state? She’s apologized to the people harmed by the war on historical figures, by suppression of political dissent, by violation of Second Amendment rights, by mandatory medical procedures, by anti-white racism? I’m pretty sure that the answer to all of these questions is “no.” Yet if Omar had actually learned from the people impacted by her words, these are all things that she would be doing. So no, Omar has not learned from people impacted by her words, and I know this because I am such a person.