In a report for The Nation , journalist John Nichols accuses President Donald Trump of intentionally misrepresenting Ilhan Omar’s comments on the United States. Nichols references the publication’s interview with Omar for the Next Left podcast — in particular, Omar’s remark that “ignorance really is pervasive in many parts of, of this country.”
Nichols points out that Omar’s comment referred to the way that politicians — especially Republicans — purportedly manipulate information for political means. He also highlights the Omar said because she was raised by educators, she is interested in battling misinformation and informing people of the things that might be — even without their knowledge — incorrectly informing them.
The statement was one that Nichols claims expressed Omar’s belief in the “power of information, and dialogue with people who do not share her views.” According to Nichols, Omar was referencing the politicians that have misconceptions about refugees and the potential to challenge their misconceptions with information — not insulting the voters that hold these beliefs.
But Trump told a crowd of supporters that Omar looks down on Americans with contempt, referring to Omar’s comment about ignorance in the United States.
“That was not her message, as Trump would have understood if he had sincerely listened to a podcast conversation in which Omar went out of her way to talk about opening up and encouraging honest debates,” Nichols wrote.
“The problem is that this president isn’t interested in getting things right when he discusses Omar. Be every indication, he is determined he get it wrong.”
“I know this because he’s stealing lines directly from my interview with her.” https://t.co/fSc8v80xVR
— The Nation (@thenation) July 18, 2019
Per The Inquisitr , veteran political journalist Lucian K. Truscott IV revealed in a Salon article that he believes that Trump is banking on racism to win the 2020 election. Trump’s overt racism toward Omar and other congresswomen of color is what, Truscott believes, the president is using to invigorate his core supporters.
Truscott highlights that Trump’s play is straight from the playbook of American segregationists such as Bull Connor, Orval Faubus, and George Wallace.” He calls the move “stunning” and said it’s covered in the “slime of white supremacist hate speech.”
According to an intelligence expert writing under the pseudonym Paul Nailer — per The Inquisitr — the Republican Party is currently “the biggest threat” to the United States. In a piece for The Independent , the expert called the Grand Old Party (GOP) the first national-level “insider threat” that the country has faced since the Civil War and suggests that the GOP is intentionally degrading U.S. institutions and the rule of law in favor of human rights abuses.
