WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar said Wednesday that President Donald Trump "is continuing to spread lies that put my life at risk" after he retweeted a false claim that she "partied on the anniversary of 9/11."
The president, who has repeatedly criticized the Minnesota Democrat in tweets and comments in recent months, retweeted Terrence K. Williams, who in his account bio described himself as an "actor/comedian/commentator." In the tweet, Williams posted a brief video of Omar dancing and claimed it was in celebration of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In fact, Omar explained, it was a video of her dancing to a Lizzo song at a Congressional Black Caucus event on Sept. 13. The video clip was originally posted to Twitter by Adam Green, a progressive activist.
The tweet from Williams, who has frequently defended Trump on Twitter, has since been deleted. But Trump's retweet was still up as of Wednesday evening. He added a comment to the retweet: "Ilhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota. The new face of the Democrat Party!"
Republicans, including Trump, have been critical of Omar for a public appearance earlier this year in which she characterized the 9/11 attacks in part by saying, "Some people did something." She said her point was that all Muslims were being assailed for the actions of a few.
"AOC" is a reference to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who along with Omar and two other women of color in Congress are nicknamed "the Squad." The group has been a frequent target of Trump's attacks. Omar and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.
"What is Twitter doing to combat this misinformation?" Omar said in her own tweet in response.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations put out a statement calling on Twitter to remove Trump's tweet and suspend him from the site.
