A former governor in Maine denounced Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) comments about Israel, which many took to be anti-Semitic, pointing out that Democrats have many pro-Israel supporters.
Paul LePage, a Republican, stepped down from his seat in office after two terms. On Monday he joined a podcast on Portland, Maine’s WGAN-AM station to share his thoughts on the controversy.
"The Jewish people in America have been great supporters of the Democratic Party," LePage said. "In fact, that's where their money comes from for the most part. They should be absolutely insulted for what she's (Omar’s) been saying."
Backlash against the congresswoman began after Omar tweeted to lawyer and journalist Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald posted in February about House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy going up against Omar and other critics of Israel.
"It's all about the Benjamins baby," Omar tweeted back.
Omar apologized for the tweet, but didn’t back down on criticizing lobbyists like AIPAC.
Listening and learning, but standing strong ????pic.twitter.com/7TSroSf8h1
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 11, 2019
It wasn’t the first case of Omar making anti-Semitic tweets. The Washington Free Beacon stated that Omar was quietly deleting her posts. One of which said, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” More recently, Omar claimed pro-Israel Americans had a dual national loyalty.
Omar’s comments prompted Democrats to push a House resolution condemning anti-Semitism, albeit adding other categories of hate, which some people like Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) argued was done to cover up Omar’s statements.
LePage pointed out that Jewish contributors might give less money to Democrats as a result of the debacle, but will otherwise stay loyal to the party.
"I think what they might do, the fundraising might get hurt a little bit," he said. "But I don't think they're going to desert the Democratic Party."