President Donald Trump used an Oval Office media availability to sharply criticize Democratic Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) over their comments following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Trump accused both lawmakers of showing hostility toward conservatives and the United States itself, calling Crockett “low-IQ” and suggesting Omar should be “taken back” by Somalia.
Crockett drew conservative outrage earlier this week after she voted against a House resolution condemning political violence and honoring Kirk, who was killed earlier this month while speaking in Utah.
She argued that Kirk’s rhetoric targeted minority communities and likened Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids to slave patrols. Crockett also claimed Kirk had spread “ignorant, uneducated” beliefs that “sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans.”
Trump dismissed those remarks as baseless.
“Jasmine, remember what I said? … She’s a very low-IQ person. If we ever had to pass an aptitude test, that’s the one who should take one because she shouldn’t even be in [Congress],” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Between her and Ilman [Omar] and the group … I suggested [to Somalia’s president] maybe he’d like to take her back, and he said, ‘I don’t want her.’”
Pressed about Crockett’s comparison of ICE to slave patrols, Trump said she had “gone over the line,” before broadening his criticism to Democrats generally.
“The Democrats have become radical left lunatics,” Trump said, adding that their policies were “not believable” and predicting that New York City could soon elect what he called a “communist mayor.”
The president argued that such developments, while “sad for New York,” could ultimately be a “gift to the Republican Party,” saying that a left-wing takeover might shock voters into reconsidering their support.
Omar has also come under fire for her response to Kirk’s death. She reposted a video accusing him of “spewing racist dog whistles” and said she was “mortified” by the killing while criticizing Kirk’s stances on race relations and gun rights. Her comments sparked calls from Republicans for her censure and even for her citizenship to be revoked. Trump has long accused Omar of disloyalty to the United States, often invoking disputed claims about her immigration history and personal life.
Omar, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia in 1995 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000, has rejected such attacks as racist and xenophobic. Conservative critics, however, continue to question the timeline of her naturalization and past marriages.
Trump has a long history of singling out Omar, a prominent member of the progressive “Squad.” He has repeatedly accused her of disloyalty and of prioritizing Somali interests over those of the United States, charges she has dismissed as bigoted and false. In turn, Omar has accused Trump of inciting violence against her and others.
The feud with Crockett is newer but highlights the same fault lines. Crockett, a freshman Democrat, has positioned herself as an outspoken critic of Trump and his allies. Her rejection of the resolution honoring Kirk cemented her reputation as a left-wing extremist.
The president’s Oval Office remarks come amid a climate of heightened political tension following Kirk’s assassination. Supporters of the conservative commentator have portrayed his death as evidence of a dangerous climate of hostility toward right-wing voices. Democrats, meanwhile, have warned against politicizing the tragedy or using it to stoke further division.
For Trump, the confrontation with Crockett and Omar provided another opportunity to sharpen contrasts with progressive Democrats while rallying his base ahead of key political battles. Whether the rhetoric translates into real action — such as renewed efforts to censure Omar or investigations into her citizenship, as some Republicans demand — remains to be seen.
