Rep. Ilhan Omar Receives Backlash for Calling Stephen Miller a ‘White Nationalist’

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in Washington on Jan. 10, 2019. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has come under fire again, this time for calling White House adviser Stephen Miller, who is Jewish, a “white nationalist.”

In a post on Twitter, Omar wrote: “Stephen Miller is a white nationalist. The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage.”

Miller, who is a senior policy adviser, has recently been in the news for his reported involvement in the latest personnel reshuffling in the Trump administration, including the resignation of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Omar’s comments on the Jewish advisor drew strong criticism from political figures, members of the press, and even President Donald Trump, who tweeted a quote from B2 Strategic CEO Jeff Ballabon.

“‘What’s completely unacceptable is for Congesswoman Omar to target Jews, in this case Stephen Miller.’” Jeff Ballabon, B2 Strategic, CEO,” Trump wrote on April 9.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also weighed in on Omar’s tweet.

“I see that the head of the Farrakhan Fan Club, @IlhanMN, took a short break from spewing her usual anti-semitic bigotry today to accuse a Jewish man of being a “white nationalist” because she apparently has no shame,” he wrote.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) also took to social media to criticize his fellow Congress member.

He wrote: “During my time in Congress before @IlhanOmar got here, I didn’t once witness another Member target Jewish people like this with the name calling & other personal attacks. In 2019 though, for @IlhanOmar, this is just called Monday.”

Journalist and writer Adelle Malka Nazarian, who stated that she knew Miller personally, stood up for the White House advisor.

She wrote: “I have known Stephen Miller thru work for many years. He’s in no way, shape, or form a white nationalist. The fact is, Ilhan is a liar & this anti-Semite’s attempt to label a Jew, whose relatives fled an actual white supremacist (Hitler), in this way is a form of delegitimization.”

Omar, a freshman Democrat, previously drew widespread condemnation for anti-semitic tropes on social media, where she implied a prominent pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), paid off lawmakers for their support of Israel.

Her comments received bipartisan condemnation and the congresswoman subsequently apologized for her comments. The House passed a watered-down resolution in March that was meant to censure Omar’s comments. The resolution (pdf), approved by a vote of 407–23, was expanded to include other forms of bias but does not include Omar’s name.

Along with her comments in February, Omar also received criticism for a 2012 post where she wrote: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

Omar sparked a fresh uproar in late February when she accused some politicians in Washington who supported Israel as having dual loyalty. These comments even earned praise from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.