Nancy now says she WON’T punish Ilhan Omar for comparing the US and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban and insists she has ‘the right to make that point’ after backlash from The Squad
- Pelosi appeared to try and quash the issue at a press conference on Friday
- She said: ‘I think that she clarified her remarks and we accept that’
- ‘[Omar] has a point that she wanted to make and she has a right to make that point,’ she added before moving onto the next question
- It follows Omar’s comments earlier this week that the US and Israel have committed ‘unspeakable atrocities’ like terrorist groups
- Pelosi on Thursday urged Omar to clarify her comments, and sparked a furious response from the progressive wing of the party
- Rep. Omar released a statement saying her claims were taken out of context
- Rep. Rashida Tlaib said: ‘Freedom of speech doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she will take no further action against Rep. Ilhan Omar for comparing the US and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban – and insisted she has ‘the right to make that point’.
‘I think that she clarified her remarks and we accept that, and she has a point that she wanted to make and she has a right to make that point,’ Pelosi said at a press conference. ‘There’s some unease about how it was interpreted.’
‘She made her clarification’, Pelosi insisted before moving onto the next question.
After her appearance, she posed for a photo and bashed Republicans by saying: ‘Can you imagine those people though? How awful they are?’
The Democratic speaker responded after Omar said the US and Israel had committed ‘unspeakable atrocities’ like terrorist groups and sparked an intense battle within the party.
The party has been thrown into disarray at the start of President Joe Biden’s eight-day trip to Europe.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib blasted Pelosi and Democratic leadership for a statement they put out Thursday saying Rep. Omar was fomenting ‘prejudice’ by comparing the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban.
‘Freedom of speech doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. The benefit of the doubt doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress,’ Tlaib tweeted two hours later. ‘House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.’
Omar on Thursday accused her critics within the Democratic Party of whipping up ‘Islamic hate against her’ after they complained she was comparing atrocities committed by American and Israeli troops with those of terrorist groups.
Beyond support from fellow Squad members Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Congressional Progressive Caucus also came out in defense of Omar, a Minnesota Democrat.
Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal called Omar a ‘deeply valued member’ of the Progressive Caucus in a statement sent out Thursday afternoon, several hours after Pelosi and the five top House Democrats sent out theirs.
‘We cannot ignore a right-wing media echo chamber that has deliberately and routinely attacked a Black, Muslim woman in Congress, distorting her views and intentions, and resulting in threats against Rep. Omar and her staff,’ Jayapal said. ‘We urge our colleagues not to abet or amplify such divisive and bad-faith tactics.’
‘Members of the Democratic caucus owe it to each other to pause, reflect, and engage directly with each other when misunderstandings arise, and stand together against cynical attempts to divide our caucus,’ she added.