#IStandWithPresTrump trends in response to #IStandWithIlhan

Dueling hashtags tweeted by supporters of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and President Trump trended on Twitter Thursday morning, hours after the crowd at Trump’s rally in North Carolina broke into chants of “send her back” aimed at the freshman congresswoman.

#IStandWithIlhan led the United States trending topics list Wednesday night and Thursday morning after Twitter users reacted to the chants aimed at Omar, a Muslim woman who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia when she was a child. Trump targeted Omar with fierce criticism at his rally and had previously tweeted that the congresswoman and three progressive minority colleagues should “go back” to the “crime infested” places they came from.

But #IStandWithIlhan was challenged Thursday morning by the hashtag #IStandWithPresTrump. 

The trend was boosted by some prominent supporters of Trump including conservative activist Candace Owens and Infowars host Paul Joseph Watson.

I’d like to nominate China’s President, Xi Jinping to be blamed for Trump’s re-election, this time around.

Putin was fun, but watching CNN & MSNBC shriek about “Chinese collusion” would be my preferred leftist mental disorder to watch play out. #IStandWithPresTrump

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) July 18, 2019

Reminder: Omar has a 9% favorability rating amongst swing Dem voters.

Trump is making her (after AOC who also has low favorability) the face of the party, and Dems are falling for it.

Simple but genius.https://t.co/HapAv51uY4#IStandWithPresTrump #IStandWithIlhan

— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) July 18, 2019

A majority of tweets under the hashtag, however, appeared to be mocking Trump supporters, with some Twitter users posting images of Ku Klux Klan members as a way of calling them racists.

#SendHerBack also trended briefly Thursday morning, largely buoyed by Trump’s critics such as conservative host Hugh Hewitt, who called his attack “nativist.” 

“Send her back” is a nativist, terrible chant. Also electoral suicide. There’re more than 400,000 naturalized residents in PA, w/ 200,000 more in Michigan. @realdonaldTrump won PA by and MI by 11K, PA by 44K. #VoteHerOut –fine. #SendHerBack –nativist. Catholics, btw, remember.

— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) July 18, 2019

This is what y’all look like unironcally using this hashtag #IStandWithPresTrump pic.twitter.com/c3luf3KQP8

— мσ ✨| Joon’s kkamdungie ✊ (@duragbangtan) July 18, 2019

i guess the circus is coming to town #IStandWithPresTrump pic.twitter.com/Le8j44jakS

— anti trump (@TRUMPISACL0WN) July 18, 2019

The president and Omar, along with three other freshman lawmakers, have dueled over social media and in public statements for days following Trump’s tweets earlier this week urging the four to “go back” to their home “countries,” despite Omar being the only of the four to have been born abroad.

The House voted Tuesday to formally condemn Trump over the comments, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called “racist.”

Updated at 10:48 a.m.