Ilhan Omar: Blaming America first, last, always

Analysis by FPI / February 10, 2020

At a Democracy Now and Rising Majority event in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Rep. Ilhan Omar complained that people are not connecting the dots to be able to see that America is responsible for everything bad that happens all around the world, analysts noted.

Appearing with fellow socialist “squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Omar said:

"When we think about it now in Congress, we're having a conversation about cross-border negotiations happening for workers because all of our destinies are tied together. When you see a Somali refugee, or an Iraqi refugee, or a Libyan refugee — we often are like 'Oh, this is my neighbor — they must have survived some struggle.' We don't ever pause to think, 'What American policy made them come over here?' "

After the audience applauded that remark, Omar continued: "When you see a flooding happening in a country abroad and you are urgently raising money for these lives to be saved, you don't think about, 'How have I contributed to the climate warming that has led to these floods and these catastrophes that are taking place abroad?' "

Omar went on to say that it was important for to "have these connections" when thinking about the problems of the world.

The PowerLine blog noted that “Omar’s blame-America-first ideology is comprehensive. Are there refugees in the world? It’s because of American foreign policy! Are we raising money to help victims of floods abroad? Floods are our fault because of climate change! Is it bad when American manufacturing jobs go overseas? Yes, but only because foreign workers are subjected to the horrors of American capitalism!”

The PowerLine blog continued: “Actually, the American policy that ‘made’ Omar come to America is the incredibly generous welcome that we extend to refugees. Omar was rescued from a Kenyan refugee camp, brought to America, sustained and educated at public expense, elected first to the Minnesota legislature and then to Congress at a remarkably young age. How cruel can you get? Omar sets a standard of ingratitude that may never be surpassed.”

Paul Crookston noted in a Feb. 7 analysis for the Washington Free Beacon that Omar had “argued that Americans seeking to help refugees should first think about how the United States is to blame for their predicament.”

Crookston added the Omar had “also argued that Americans should worry about jobs going overseas not because that reduces employment opportunities for them, but rather because it means people in countries such as Mexico will be subjected to the exploitative practices of American corporations.”

Last week, while campaigning for Bernie Sanders in Iowa, Omar had described her experience coming to America as a Somali refugee and being disappointed with the country she found.

"Because the America we were shown in the orientation tapes when we were coming here from the refugee camp in Kenya had beautiful homes with white picket fences," Omar explained, "happy families eating a full meal in their beautiful living rooms. It had happy children getting on the bus to go to their beautiful schools. It had pictures of amazing malls, mega-malls, and had pictures of beautifully built bridges and highways. It was a picture of abundance. Now that is the ideal."

Bronson Stocking wrote for TownHall: “That sounds like the America the MAGA train is headed toward. But remind me why we need refugees in this country who hate us and want to blame America for everything bad in the world?”



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