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Trump demands Omar resign over ‘anti- Semitic’ tweet

February 14, 2019 at 10:51 am

US congresswoman Ilhan Omar in Washington, US on 10 January 2019 [Alex Wong/Getty Images]

US President Donald Trump has called on Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to resign over the “anti-Semitic” tweets affair.

Despite apologising for her remarks, Trump said Tuesday during a cabinet meeting that “what she said is so deep-seated in her heart […] she didn’t mean a word” of her apology, which he described as “lame”.

Trump said that Omar should either resign or at least be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee.

On Sunday, Omar came under fire for her tweets – in which she criticised the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) over elected United States officials – from both Democrats and Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Omar to apologise.

In her apology, Omar said that “anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes”.

“My intention [was] never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity. This is why I unequivocally apologize,” she said.

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