President Trump and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) engaged in a brief but tense war of words on Twitter earlier today that had the freshman Congresswoman demanding the social media platform take action against him.
Politico reports:
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) today called on Twitter to take action against President Donald Trump’s account and remove a tweet in which he shared a false claim that Omar had “partied” on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“They have a responsibility and they set community standards and clearly the president has shown many-a-times that he has violated their community standards,” she told POLITICO. “I don’t even know why his account is not fully suspended — why he’s not deplatformed.”
[…]
Trump today shared a tweet by conservative actor and comedian Terrence Williams that erroneously claimed Omar was out dancing on the anniversary of 9/11. “IIhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota. The new face of the Democrat Party!” Trump wrote in a caption.
Williams ended up deleting the original tweet after it was noted that the Omar dancing video was actually from a September 13th event, but Trump’s tweet is still up as of this writing:
IIhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota. The new face of the Democrat Party! https://t.co/aQFEygSa4D
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 18, 2019
Here is how Omar responded:
This is from a CBC event we hosted this weekend to celebrate black women in Congress.
The President of the United States is continuing to spread lies that put my life at risk.
What is Twitter doing to combat this misinformation? https://t.co/XdkRVrU7mZ
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 18, 2019
She also retweeted several tweets from others who called for Twitter to take action, as well as one from 2020 presidential candidate and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) condemning Trump:
It comes as no surprise that Donald Trump's racism and xenophobia knows no bounds. I look forward to continue working with Rep. Omar long after Trump loses in 2020. https://t.co/IW9i3xZVCe
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 18, 2019
Here’s the problem with what Omar is all but telling Twitter to do in response to Trump’s tweet: If Twitter makes it the rule and not the exception to delete tweets and suspend and/or deplatform elected officials for misleading claims, unintentionally erroneous claims, deliberately false claims (lies), and/or any tweet the offending party alleges incited threats of violence, then Omar’s account will need to be suspended or deplatformed, too.
That goes for all members of The Squad, and in fact for most Republicans and Democrats in Congress as well. Because there’s not a single Twitter account out there from a politician that doesn’t contain at least one or more of the types of tweets I mentioned above, including Omar’s.
In fact, Omar has been resistant to deleting tweets she posts that are clearly anti-Semitic and prone to incite threats, and has only done so in certain instances – including deleting one that had been up for seven years.
Not to mention they weren’t deleted due to Republican complaints or because of any genuine feelings of guilt, but instead because of intense pressure from some of her own party members that the tweets were a distraction from their far left agenda.
While I don’t doubt that Omar is on the receiving end of some pretty nasty threats, the same holds true for most other members of the House and Senate. Unfortunately, it comes with the territory. The threats and those behind them should be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if deemed credible and serious.
But I suspect that the issue with Omar is not just that Trump’s tweet was inaccurate, it’s the fact that she was criticized – period. It’s become Standard Operating Procedure for Squad members to flash the “incitement” card when someone criticizes them – even when the criticism is legitimate. It’s a way for Omar and her Congressional BFFs to try and shut down the debate.
Demanding Trump be suspended or deplatformed for his tweet is just another on a long list of shutuppery tactics utilized by the left, another way to try and silence an outspoken critic.
Even with Twitter’s well-documented left-wing biases in mind, it’s not likely to work. But it won’t stop Omar from trying.
——-
— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –
Join the conversation as a VIP Member