Rep. Ilhan Omar At Home: Minnesota

When President Donald Trump tweeted at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), and several other young Democrats of color, to “go back” — he was really telling Omar to go back to Minnesota.

She represents the 5th District in Minnesota — all of Minneapolis and some of the suburbs. Omar was born in Somalia, but is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

And when she did return to her home district after a jeering crowd at a Trump rally chanted “send her back,” her constituents welcomed her.

Minnesota Public Radio’s Angela Davis spoke with Omar yesterday.

From her interview with the congresswoman:

She also said she expects that other women of color in Congress will be a focal point for the fall 2020 election campaigns.

“They know that having our faces, the faces of black, brown women as the face of the party, is to instill a particular fear, incite a base that really gets fueled by this bigotry. But truth be told, we are the face of our party,” she said. “We represent many of the voices that are fighting for progress.”

As we explore questions of home and belonging elsewhere in today’s program, we talk with Angela Davis about Omar’s work in Congress, her controversial comments regarding American support for Israel and more.

GUESTS

Angela Davis, Host, MPR News with Angela Davis;@AngelaDavisMPR

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