Rep. Ilhan Omar served a brutal critique of President Donald Trump during a press briefing, directly tying his rhetoric to the violent attack she endured at her press briefing earlier this week.
“I do believe that I wouldn’t be where I am today, having to pay for security, having the government think about providing me security, if Donald Trump wasn’t in office and if he wasn’t so obsessed with me,” Omar said. She questioned how Trump could repeatedly reference her by name on stage yet claim he “doesn’t think about her,” adding pointedly, “Does he not remember? Is he suffering from dementia? How do you spend 20, 30 minutes on stage obsessing over me by name multiple times and then moments later say, ‘Omar? I don’t think about her.’”
REP OMAR: "I wouldn't be where I am at today — having to pay for security, having the government to think about providing me security — if Donald Trump wasn't in office and if he wasn't so obsessed with me."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 29, 2026
"He was on stage, moments before I was attacked, talking about me. Then… pic.twitter.com/RrKhZylCBE
Omar emphasized that the attack she experienced was not isolated, but part of a broader pattern of intimidation fueled by Trump’s rhetoric over the years. “For four years when he was in office — the first two years I was a state representative and the last two years I was a member of Congress — it was maybe my second or third week when he started attacking me,” she said. “I became a freshman who nobody should have actually known I existed because I wielded no power, to having the most death threats of any member of Congress. To the point where I had to have six Capitol Police officers providing 24-hour detail to me and my family.”
NEW — Rep. Ilhan Omar was just charged by a man at a town hall event in Minneapolis. Crowd says he "sprayed her" with something.
— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) January 28, 2026
You can hear Omar demand to continue the town hall — and she's back to speaking now from the podium. pic.twitter.com/4OpSWHo0Z9
Omar explained that death threats decreased during Trump’s absence from office, but have surged since he returned, coinciding with his administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement, particularly targeting Somali communities. She linked the individual who attacked her directly to the Trump administration’s orders regarding Somali deportations, stating the assailant “was specifically upset that Trump’s order to deport Somali was not yielding enough deportations of Somali.”
Despite the threats, Omar made it clear that intimidation has not deterred her from public service. “The president’s rhetoric, the attacks from him since I’ve gotten into public office, from the right wing, have always really been to stop me from being in public service, to intimidate me, to make me want to quit. And my only message is it hasn’t worked thus far and it’s not going to work in the future,” she said. Omar also stressed the constitutional protections she and her community enjoy, declaring, “We are protected by the Constitution,” and highlighting the resilience of Somali and immigrant communities in Minneapolis amid heightened federal enforcement and political hostility.
The congresswoman’s remarks underscore the intersection of national political rhetoric with real-world consequences, particularly in Minnesota, where federal immigration operations and protests have intensified in recent weeks. Omar’s comments make clear that, for her, the stakes are not just political but personal — and that she is determined to continue her work despite threats and attacks.
