Ilhan Omar: Trump's plan is to turn 'American against American to benefit the wealthy elite'


Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) knows exactly why President Trump makes racist statements, as it's a move that's been in the political playbook throughout U.S. history, she wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday night.
Racist language "has been used to turn American against American in order to benefit the wealthy elite," Omar said. "Every time Mr. Trump attacks refugees is a time that could be spent discussing the president's unwillingness to raise the federal minimum wage for up to 33 million Americans. Every racist attack on four members of Congress is a moment he doesn't have to address why his choice for labor secretary has spent his career defending Wall Street banks and Walmart at the expense of workers. When he is launching attacks on the free press, he isn't talking about why his Environmental Protection Agency just refused to ban a pesticide linked to brain damage in children."
For two weeks, Trump has been steadily attacking Omar and three other House Democrats — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — telling them they don't love the United States and need to go back to their home countries. This is a distraction, because "if working Americans are too busy fighting with one another, we will never address the very real and deep problems our country faces — from climate change to soaring inequality to lack of quality affordable health care," Omar said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Americans must push back against the administration's policies, Omar said, because it's "not enough to condemn Mr. Trump's racism." She ended her op-ed with a warning. "Right-wing nationalism in Hungary, Russia, France, Britain, and elsewhere is on the march in ways not seen in decades," Omar said. "America has been a beacon of democratic ideals for the world. If we succumb to the fever of right-wing nationalism, it will have consequences far beyond our borders." Read the entire op-ed at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
‘Peak consumption has become the Holy Grail of the energy debate’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Nadine Menendez gets 4.5 years in bribery case
Speed Read Menendez's husband was previously sentenced to 11 years in prison
-
Koreans detained in US Hyundai raid return home
Speed Read Over 300 Koreans were detained at the plant last week
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants