WASHINGTON, USA — Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota has sharply criticised former President Donald Trump and several Republican lawmakers, saying their recent attacks on her demonstrate that the United States is “being led by idiots.”
Omar’s remarks followed a week of political rancour in Washington after Trump targeted her in a social media post, accusing her of “telling us how to run our country” and calling for her impeachment.
His comments came in the wake of a failed attempt in Congress to censure Omar over her response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close ally of the former president.
Kirk was shot dead on Wednesday, September 10, 2025.
Days later, Omar retweeted a post that critics claimed suggested she blamed Mr. Kirk for his own death, sparking outrage among Republicans and supporters of the activist.
Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, subsequently introduced a resolution to censure Omar for allegedly “smearing Charlie Kirk.”
The motion was defeated on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, by a narrow margin of 214 to 213.
In his online post, Trump described Somalia, Omar’s country of birth, as plagued by corruption and dysfunction before turning his criticism directly at her.
“All of this, and Ilhan Omar tells us how to run America! … What SCUM we have in our country, telling us what to do, and how to do it,” he wrote.
Speaking on The Weekend Prime, Omar dismissed Trump’s remarks, calling him “always unhinged, always derailed, always creating chaos.”
She also noted that his call for her impeachment betrayed a misunderstanding of the U.S. political system.
“He’s supposed to be the president of the United States, heading off to Europe to represent us. When he does, he’s educated enough to understand that members of congress can’t be impeached,” she said.
Omar further argued that rhetoric from Trump and his Republican allies revealed “how stupid they are,” and risked damaging the country’s image abroad.
“When they’re saying they’re going to deport me knowing fully well that you cannot deport an American citizen, what that displays for not just Americans but folks on an international platform is that our country is being led by idiots,” she said.
“I feel great sadness that these are the kinds of people representing us,” she added.
