On Wednesday, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar pushed back against allegations that she is anti-Semitic despite previously making comments which were widely perceived as anti-Semitic.
During the interview with CBS News’ Gayle King, Omar brushed off the criticism concerning her previous comments and claimed they were misinterpreted.
“Oftentimes there are things that you might say, might not hold weight for you, but to someone else, right, the way that we hear and consume information is very different than the next person might,” the Minnesota congresswoman contended via the Washington Examiner.
King then asked Omar, who seems to understand that some people were offended by her remarks, whether or not she regretted making them.
“So you don’t regret your words either?” King asked per the report.
“I do not,” Omar responded. “But I’m grateful for the opportunity to really learn how my words make people feel, and have taken every single opportunity I’ve gotten to make sure that people understood that I apologize for it.”
King pressed: “Would you like to make it clear that you are not anti-Semitic?”
Omar answered, “Oh, certainly not. Nothing I said, at least to me, was meant for that purpose.”
Here’s more, from the Washington Examiner:
Accusations of anti-Semitism have dogged Omar predating her time in Congress. Back in 2012, she accused Israel of “hypnotizing the world” and later defended the remarks earlier this year until she ultimately apologized. Omar then got in hot water for alleging that members of Congress support Israel for financial gain and that they have a dual “allegiance” to Israel.
Ultimately, the House passed a watered-down resolution condemning all bigotry despite the fact that her controversial comments initiated the resolution.
Trump claimed that Omar “says horrible things about Israel, hates Israel, hates Jews, it’s very simple,” during a Monday event during which he escalated the fight.
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