President Donald Trump called for the removal of Rep. Ilhan Omar and others from the country during a rally in Florida on Friday, May 1, reviving old claims that the Minnesota Democrat married her brother to gain U.S. entry.
Trump spoke to a packed crowd at the retirement community as he mocked Omar’s personal life and finances.
He accused her of entering an illegal marriage with her brother and questioned how her reported wealth changed so sharply in official filings.
“I believe she married her brother, which is totally illegal,” Trump said. “It’s a lovely couple, actually, but it’s a little bit on the illegal side. ‘Darling, I love you very much.’ ‘Good night, brother, let’s go to bed.’ Isn’t she despicable? I can’t stand watching.”
Omar’s accounting mistake that Trump capitalized on
Then the president turned to Omar’s eyebrow-raising recent financial disclosure. Last month, he said she had ‘accidentally checked the wrong box’ listing her worth at $30 million, before the number plummeted to less than $95,000. Trump said the change signaled bigger problems.
The comments drew cheers from the audience. At the end of his attack, Trump declared, “We ought to get those people the hell out of our country!”
Omar, a Somali-American who arrived in the U.S. as a child refugee, has served in Congress since 2019. She has repeatedly denied marrying her brother.
She married a man named Ahmed Elmi, according to public records from years ago. Critics say he is her brother because the documents show that they shared the last name, address, and other details.
Also Read: Ilhan Omar Cuts Reported Assets from $30M to Under $95K, Sparks Calls for Ethics Probe
Omar has always called the accusations false and politically motivated. Multiple fact-checks over the years found the brother’s claim unproven.
The issue resurfaced this year when Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., pushed for subpoenas on Omar’s immigration records during a House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud in Minnesota. Trump has raised the matter before, but his language Friday was especially sharp.
Her supporters have been viewing the attacks as rooted in racism and aimed at Somali communities in Minnesota, where large numbers of immigrants have settled.
Trump’s appearance came as he continues to press hard on immigration and criticism of Democrats.
He described Omar’s situation as part of a wider pattern of fraud and said her whole public life rests on deception.
The $30 million wealth figure apparently came from a filing error. Omar later corrected it, blaming an accounting mistake.
Trump jumped on the alleged accounting mistake to paint her as an untrustworthy leader, or rather, a person.
This isn’t the first time Trump has gone after Omar. He has questioned her loyalty, her views on Israel, and her immigration history in the past.
Omar has always responded by saying that Trump is making Americans more divided and afraid.
Lawyers say that any attempt to remove a current member of Congress would be very difficult.
Naturalized citizens like Omar enjoy the same protections as native-born Americans, and deportation would require proof of serious fraud in their original entry or citizenship process. No such finding has been made in court.
Omar represents Minnesota’s 5th District, which includes Minneapolis and has a significant Somali population.
Local leaders there have criticized Trump’s remarks as harmful to community relations.
