Republicans, rightwing figures and foreign politicians have seized upon the video despite proof the lawmaker was misquoted

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    The Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, has gone furthest in her response to the clip, calling Omar a “foreign agent in our government”. Greene, a leading supporter of Donald Trump, who also attempted to censure the Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib in November, called Omar a “terrorist sympathizer” on X last week, adding: “Somalian first. Muslim second. She never mentions America.”

    I vote we should be allowed to see ALL donors of ALL politicians. full disclosure. And ban super-PACS altogether. We’ll see whose the foreign agent.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Even if she did say “Somalians first…” how many White Americans call themselves Irish or Italian? And have parades celebrating how Irish or Italian they are?

    • HubertManne@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      this is a bs comment. I have never known anyone to make a comment that their nationality first over america. Total pride in it sure and maybe something close like we are not just americans but X americans but not like it takes priority. Granted this comment is based on yours saying if she did say it so because moot in reality.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I have never known anyone to make a comment that their nationality first over america.

        Cool. That includes Ilhan Omar.

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          11 months ago

          Maybe. The article does not give the “correct” translation so who knows. One side says omar said this and the other said no its not that.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            It absolutely does give the correct translation. Literally the third paragraph of the article:

            According to the Minnesota Reformer, a Minnesota-based news outlet, which worked with two independent Somali translators, Omar said: “We are people who know that they are Somali and Muslim”, not that she was “Somalians first” as the video suggested.

            How many Somali translators did “the other side” use?

            • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              How many Somali translators did “the other side” use?

              Several, but lots of other intermediates were involved. At one point, they actually arrived at exactly this!

            • HubertManne@kbin.social
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              11 months ago

              I was looking for that but somehow I thought that was the initial translation and not the corrected one. I guess they just did not give the initial one used outside of politician comments. So my bad but I really wish news articles were written differently.

  • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    There are 435 members of the house. Any guesses as to why we are disproportionately talking about Ilhan Omar?

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    11 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    A week after a mistranslated clip of Ilhan Omar sparked outrage online, some far-right House Republicans are still following through with calls for the progressive lawmaker to be censured.

    Greene, a leading supporter of Donald Trump, who also attempted to censure the Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib in November, called Omar a “terrorist sympathizer” on X last week, adding: “Somalian first.

    The preliminary deal, termed a memorandum of understanding, would see Somaliland lease Ethiopia a naval base on the Gulf of Aden and grant it widened access to its Berbera port.

    Omar defended her comments in the days that followed, saying the subtitles in the video were “not only slanted but completely off”, as she expressed her support for the government of Somalia, where she was born, as it finds itself embroiled in standoff with Ethiopia.

    Omar vowed to thwart the deal, which the US has also expressed concerns over, telling people at the gathering in Minneapolis: “For as long as I am in Congress, no one will take over the seas belonging to the nation of Somalia and the United States will not support others who seek to steal from us.”

    Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, criticised the move as a “frivolous censure resolution, designed to inflame and castigate and further divide us”.


    The original article contains 849 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 75%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!