Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has once again criticized her fellow Democrats for promoting “right-wing vitriol” by turning on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) for seemingly comparing the US and Taliban.
During an interview on CNN on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez was asked about her recent tweet accusing critics of “mischaracterization” in their attacks on Omar, after Omar tweeted, “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the US, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”
Pretty sick & tired of the constant vilification, intentional mischaracterization, and public targeting of @IlhanMN coming from our caucus.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 10, 2021
They have no concept for the danger they put her in by skipping private conversations & leaping to fueling targeted news cycles around her.
The tweet referred to ongoing International Criminal Court investigations into alleged war crimes committed by the aforementioned parties.
We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity.
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 7, 2021
We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.
I asked @SecBlinken where people are supposed to go for justice. pic.twitter.com/tUtxW5cIow
A dozen Jewish Democrats signed a letter demanding clarification from Omar, and blasting her apparent comparison of Israel and the US with the Taliban and Hamas. Ocasio-Cortez says her colleagues “mischaracterized” her fellow ‘squad’ member’s words in ignoring the specific cases she was referring to in her comments.
The congresswoman went on to accuse the Democrats of promoting “right-wing vitriol” with their criticism: “This whole hubbub started with right-wing news outlets taking what she said out of context. And when we feed into that, it adds legitimacy to a lot of this kind of right-wing vitriol … And as someone who has experienced that, you know, it’s very difficult to communicate the scale and how dangerous that is.”
Omar also responded to the letter herself, denouncing it in a tweet as “shameful” and accusing the signatories of engaging in “Islamophobic tropes.”
It’s shameful for colleagues who call me when they need my support to now put out a statement asking for “clarification” and not just call.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 10, 2021
The islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable. https://t.co/37dy2UduW0
While doing the cable-news rounds on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) was also asked about the controversy, and made it clear she was more ready than Ocasio-Cortez to move on from the story.
“Congresswoman Omar is a valued member of our caucus,” she said, explaining that the Democrats had been concerned Omar was making an “equivalency” between the US and the Taliban or Hamas, but adding that they had accepted her “clarification.”
“So, do you want people to just let it go?” CNN host Dana Bash asked.
“They can say whatever they want,” Pelosi responded. “What I’m saying is ‘end of subject’. She clarified. We thanked her. End of subject.”
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