Booker: Trump, others’ criticism of Omar ‘trafficking in Islamophobia’

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said Wednesday that criticisms of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), from President Trump and her other critics are “trafficking in Islamophobia.”

“The criticisms of Congresswoman Omar, what Donald Trump has been saying about her, is reprehensible, it is trafficking in Islamophobia, and it should be condemned by everyone,” Booker, a 2020 presidential candidate, said at Wednesday’s She the People presidential forum in Texas.

“This kind of selective condemnation should be a chorus of people condemning. And more than this, the kind of language our president uses, especially about black women in power … it is toxic,” he continued. “It fuels the kind of hate we see in our communities manifesting itself in the kind of terrorism that has been seen in our nation since 9/11.”{mosads}

Booker’s remarks came in response to a question about criticism and death threats Omar said she has faced in recent months as she has continued to be a target of conservatives.  

Omar, one of the first Muslim congresswomen, first sparked criticism for questioning the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) influence on foreign policy. Some accused the comments of being anti-Semitic, and they prompted the passage of a House resolution condemning hate in all forms.

The freshman congresswoman said earlier this month that she has received an increased number of death threats since President Trump shared an edited video on Twitter that featured images of the 9/11 terrorist attack with Omar’s comments spliced in between.

Omar, speaking at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) last month, said “some people did something” in reference to the 9/11 attacks before explaining that some used the attack to advocate for taking away civil liberties from Muslim Americans. 

Soon after those comments were shared by conservative commentators, Trump tweeted a video of the comments spliced over images and videos from 9/11, suggesting Omar was minimizing what happened. 

A New York man was arrested earlier this month for allegedly threatening to murder Omar.