Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., suggested Sunday on a podcast that Democrats should act with grace toward former supporters of President Donald Trump who have broken with him on key issues.
Tommy Vietor, one of the co-hosts of “Pod Save America” played a clip of former Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was once one of Trump’s staunch allies. She has now become one of his most outspoken conservative critics, even suggesting he be removed from office via the 25th Amendment after his viral threat to end Iranian civilization.
“The American people have to open their eyes and deal with reality and deal with truth. And the truth is, look, you may have supported President Trump for 10 years, like I did and like you have, but this is not the same man. This is not the same man that we supported,” Greene said earlier this month.
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Vietor noted that she is “far from the only die-hard MAGA supporter” who has broken with Trump over the war in Iran and the handling of the Epstein files, citing a variety of other famous political figures. He then asked Omar what her reaction is to Greene’s comments and how Democrats should respond to such defections from the MAGA movement.
The answer to the latter part of his question, Omar said, is “I think as Americans, it is really important for us to work together for the preservation of everything that is good in our country. and to support leaders that we can trust to safeguard what is good about our country.”
The fascinating part of such defectors like Greene, Omar suggested, is that “they are not just coming out like other ones that you’d mentioned where they’re saying, ‘This action is wrong,’ right? They’re saying, ‘I am done with you.’”
Vietor agreed, noting it is a “values-based” judgment “like ‘this guy is bad,’ not like ‘this policy is bad.’”
“Right, and I think that we should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man, for what he is,” Omar said. “The fact that they understand that he never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
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She went on to say that instead, it was about Trump enriching himself and boosting his ego after having been mocked by people like former President Barack Obama in the past.
“It was never about putting America first. It was never about having coherent policies,” she said.
Omar went on to marvel at “The fact that they have gotten off the sycophant train and are saying, ‘You know, we trusted the wrong person. We are sorry for that and need all of you to wake up to the fact that you’ve also trusted the wrong person.’”
She added that this is something that “I think is an important thing for us to put our arms around and say ‘Yes, then now let’s figure out how do we save our country from the disaster that this man is creating?'”
“I think it’s pretty important and meaningful that you feel that way, because you are someone who’s personally dealt with some abuse from a lot of these folks,” Vietor responded.
“All of them,” Omar joked.
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When she was asked whether she had ever called Greene to extend this olive branch, she said she hasn’t yet, but recalled, “I did, before she left, I found her on the House floor and thanked her for, you know, her support in ending the genocide, her willingness to speak up about what the people in Gaza have experienced and what our tax dollars have allowed to take place.”
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She concluded, “We have a responsibility to end this genocide and to end our financial and political support for Israel and the impunity that we have constantly provided for them as, you know, they have tried to destroy a group of people.”
When Greene was in Congress, she and Omar often exchanged barbs.
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In early 2024, Greene had pushed to censure Omar, accusing her of being a “foreign agent” for Somalia.
In 2021, Omar voted with the Democratic majority to strip Greene of her committee assignments.
Omar spoke up in favor of penalizing Greene in personal terms. She mentioned how Greene tried to previously force her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., two Muslim members of Congress, to retake their congressional oaths on the Bible. She recalled when Greene posted a picture of herself holding a gun alongside images of Omar, Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., titled the “Squad’s worst nightmare.”
“This is about whether it is OK to hold an assault rifle next to members’ heads in a campaign ad and incite death threats against them,” Omar said in response at the time. “This is about whether it is OK to encourage the murder of the speaker of the House.”
