Rep. Tlaib: Criticizing Rep. Omar’s 9/11 Comments ‘Absolutely Putting Her Life in Danger’

‘They’re afraid because we speak truth’

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Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) says criticism of her colleague, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) over her downplaying the 9/11 terrorist attacks is “racist” and puts “her life in danger.”

Tlaib, asked to respond to the controversy over Omar describing the attacks of 9/11 as “some people did something,” angrily defended the comments, insisting they were taken out of context and that she said nothing wrong. 

 “They do that all the time to us, especially women of color,” Rep. Tlaib told MSNBC. “They take our words out of context because they’re afraid because we speak truth, we speak truth to power. My sister Ilhan Omar she was talking about uplifting people by supporting their civil liberties and civil rights.”

This criticism, Rep. Tlaib said, is racist.

“This is just pure racist act by many of those, hateful acts by those because she does speak truth when she talks about different issues that they don’t disagree with,” she said. “And I’m really outraged because as a person that has gotten direct death threats myself, I know that her life is put in more danger and I see her not just my sister Ilhan Omar as colleague, but I see her as a mother of three trying to raise her children. I can’t imagine their lives without her.”

Rep. Omar’s life is being endangered by those who question her comments, Rep. Tlaib added.

“The fact that these people are irresponsibly taking those words out of context and endangering the life of Rep. Omar is — is immoral, is wrong and it needs to be called out by many of my colleagues not just myself in saying that they need to stop, stop targeting her this way,” she said. “It’s absolutely putting her life in danger.”

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