In a vitriolic social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump has called Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar “scum,” and even repeated the debunked conspiracy theory that she married her brother to get U.S. citizenship.
Trump’s outburst, in which he also denigrated Somalia, came after Omar criticised Charlie Kirk’s right-wing views after his assassination.
“Ilhan Omar’s Country of Somalia is plagued by a lack of central Government control, persistent Poverty, Hunger, Resurgent Terrorism, Piracy, decades of Civil War, Corruption, and pervasive Violence,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Seventy percent of the population lives in extreme Poverty, and widespread Food Insecurity. Somalia is consistently ranked among the World’s Most Corrupt Countries, including Bribery, Embezzlement, and a Dysfunctional Government.”
Trump concluded: “All of this, and Ilhan Omar tells us how to run America! P.S. Wasn’t she the one that married her brother to gain Citizenship? What SCUM we have in our Country.”
The claim that Ilhan Omar married her brother is a baseless conspiracy theory from 2016, alleging she wed Ahmed Nur Said Elmi to secure his U.S. immigration status.
No credible evidence — birth certificates, DNA, or immigration records — supports Elmi being her sibling.
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Omar’s marriage timeline shows a 2009 legal marriage to Elmi, dissolved in 2017, with no immigration benefits tied to it.
The claim nevertheless persists due to political motivations but lacks substantiation.
Ilhan Omar on Kirk
Trump’s invective came amid a week of intense political backlash for Omar, over her comments on the assassination of the Islamophobic, pro-Israel activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on 10 September at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah. Suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested in connection with his killing.
Omar had criticised public mourning for Kirk during a September 11 podcast, calling those claiming he “just wanted to have a civil debate” “full of s—.”
She also reposted a video calling Kirk a “stochastic terrorist” and a “reprehensible human being.”
Republican Representative Nancy Mace filed a resolution to censure Omar, seeking her removal from the Education and Workforce and Budget committees.
“If you mock a political assassination and celebrate murder, you don’t get to keep your committee seat, you get consequences,” Mace said.
Despite Mace’s effort, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 214-213 not to censure Omar, with four Republican lawmakers — Cory Mills, Jeff Hurd, Tom McClintock, and Mike Flood — voting with Democrats.
McClintock acknowledged Omar’s comments were “disgusting and hateful” but argued they were protected under the First Amendment.
