Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, others blast Trump for 9/11 video coupled with Rep. Omar's comments

Christal Hayes
Updated

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump posted a video criticizing freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, using footage of the Twin Towers burning on 9/11 to denounce her recent comments about the attacks.

The video was criticized by Democrats, who accused the president of using out-of-context comments and video of one of America's most horrific and devastating terrorist attacks to slam a political foe.

The 43-second video, which Trump pinned to the top of his Twitter account, is set to dramatic music and shows the Twin Towers burning, New Yorkers covered in debris and the aftermath of the 2001 attack at the Pentagon. It is coupled with footage of Omar's recent comments, referencing the attacks as, "something" done by "some people."

Omar has been heavily criticized by conservatives for the remarks, including by members of Congress and a Fox News host who questioned her allegiance to the United States.

Democrats have argued the comments were taken out-of-context and Omar was attempting to differentiate terrorists from all Muslims.

More: New York Post rips Rep. Ilhan Omar over 9/11 comments. Here's what we know about her remarks

More: 'I’ll put a bullet in her': Trump supporter charged with threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar

Trump's video shows Omar's comments repetitively then switches to a black screen with the words "some people did something?" The video then shows the moment one of the jetliners crashed into one of the towers and people running in fear as the buildings collapsed.

The video ends with the words "September 11, 2001. We remember" stretched across the screen.

Democrats accused the president of jeopardizing Omar's life with the post, arguing the content was geared to incite Trump followers. A New York man was arrested last week after allegedly threatening to kill Omar, one of the two first Muslim women elected to Congress, by putting a "bullet in her (expletive) skull."

Fellow freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has also been a target of Trump and other Republicans, called on fellow lawmakers to denounce the president and his attack on Omar.

"Members of Congress have a duty to respond to the President’s explicit attack today," she wrote on Twitter. "@IlhanMN’s life is in danger. For our colleagues to be silent is to be complicit in the outright, dangerous targeting of a member of Congress. We must speak out."

Along with the call to fellow lawmakers, Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., posted a photo of a display at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The photo showed a quote at the museum from a theologian who was imprisoned during Adolf Hitler's rule in Germany.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

- Martin Niemöller

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is running for president in 2020, also chimed in, calling Trump's attack "disgraceful."

"The President is inciting violence against a sitting Congresswoman—and an entire group of Americans based on their religion," Warren, D-Mass., wrote on Twitter. "It's disgusting. It's shameful. And any elected leader who refuses to condemn it shares responsibility for it."

Fellow 2020 hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., agreed.

"Ilhan Omar is a leader with strength and courage," he wrote on Twitter. "She won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we. The disgusting and dangerous attacks against her must end."

Omar made the controversial comments last month for the Council of American-Islamic Relations in California, one week after the terrorist attacks targeting two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks left 50 people dead.

She spoke to the Muslim community about their resilience and their rights to live a full life like all Americans, saying that while the tragedy was a "nightmare," it wasn't surprising. She added that Muslims must not be defeated by hatred, should speak up for themselves, and spoke of the 9/11 attacks that changed how Muslims were treated in the country.

More: New York Post rips Rep. Ilhan Omar over 9/11 comments. Here's what we know about her remarks

“Here’s the truth. Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," Omar said. "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. So you can’t just say that today someone is looking at me strange, that I am trying to make myself look pleasant. You have to say this person is looking at me strange, I am not comfortable with it, and I am going to talk to them and ask them why. Because that is the right you have.”

The New York Post blasted Omar Thursday in a large spread on their front page. The cover showed the Twin Towers burning after a pair of jetliners crashed into them. The headline reads: Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 was 'some people did something.' Here's your something. 2,977 people dead by terrorism."

Before her comments on 9/11 were unearthed, Omar sparked controversy over her criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians and Israeli lobbying efforts.

She posted a series of tweets in February implying the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups was stifling debate about Israel and Palestinians. Critics said the comments played into enduring stereotypes about Jewish money controlling politics.

In the aftermath of the controversy, the House passed a resolution that condemned hate. It was originally crafted solely on denouncing anti-Semitism but later broadened to slam other forms of bigotry against minorities.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, others blast Trump for 9/11 video coupled with Rep. Omar's comments