Universal TV on YouTube
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) caught the ire of several Republicans and conservatives after giving a speech in Minneapolis on Saturday, with many blaming her for expressing her allegiance to her birthplace of Somalia over the United States. But a new translation of her speech, which was delivered in Somali, shows that she never said that.
Semafor’s Ben Smith dropped a tip on Twitter/X that the Minnesota Reformer — an independent local news outlet — did its own translation of Omar’s speech using two translators, including by “a federally certified court interpreter.” And what Omar has been accused of saying is a complete misinterpretation of her actual, translated words.
Widely circulated versions of the English translation of Omar’s speech claim that she referred to “people who know they are Somalians first, Muslims second.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) was one of the main dissenting voices who called on Omar to “resign in disgrace” over her “appalling, Somalia-first comments” that were not just a “slap in the face” to her constituents, but “a direct violation of her oath of office.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called for Omar to be deported and expelled from Congress.