Assistant House Speaker Ben Ray Luján criticized Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for her statements about the terror attacks on 9/11, during a Thursday interview with Katy Tur.
Omar drew the ire of many Americans when she said “some people did something” in reference to the 9/11 terror attacks during a speech last. She also claimed in the same speech that the attacks had been used to justify the mistreatment of Muslims. The New York Post escalated the situation by publishing her quote Thursday with the infamous photo of the second plane going into the World Trade Center.
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“Well, those statements were not only hurtful to me but extremely hurtful to everyone that was personally impacted by those terrorist attacks,’ Luján said. “No one should refer to what happened on 9/11 with terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans as ‘something by some people.’ And that’s what was wrong with those statements. I think what you showed in that earlier clip, with how The [New York] Post talked about this important story, is what’s so concerning to many of us. But let me also just say something else, though. The wrong way to react to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar are with the death threats that we’re also seeing extended to her. This is just wrong and that’s not right, either.”
“So Ilhan Omar tweeted about this just last night and she focused on a couple of her critics,” MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt responded. “Some comments that were made on Fox News and also a tweet from Dan Crenshaw, a Republican congressman who called her remarks ‘unbelievable’ and she said this is dangerous incitement, given the death threats, which you mentioned. ‘I hope leaders of both parties will join me in condemning it.’ Do you feel as though she should apologize for these remarks?”
“Well, again, I think that any time that there is a call or something that was said pointing to a terrorist attack that killed thousands of people across the country, that’s wrong. And I think that it is important to recognize that and apologize. But, again, I also agree with what Ilhan stated, which I said earlier, which is condemning the notion of death threats. No one should be extending death threats to anyone, anywhere in our country and especially to one of our colleagues here.”
Many have come to Omar’s defense and have accused the Post of inciting violence against the congresswoman, who has previously received threats. (RELATED: Rashida Tlaib Defends Ilhan Omar’s 9/11 Comments: This is ‘Racist’)
As Hunt mentioned, Omar called out Crenshaw and Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade for what she called “dangerous incitement.”