Tipsheet

Is There Something Odd About the Flags Being Waved at This Ilhan Omar Speech?

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 30, 2024 10:30 PM

Truth be told, the flags aren’t even the worst of it. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) once again dipped into the pool of controversy by appearing to make a promise to her Somali supporters that she would do everything to block the Republic of Somaliland from breaking away. That’s not her job, and it led to a backlash from Republican lawmakers who rightly questioned the Minnesota Democrat about her loyalties. She delivered these remarks on January 27 (via Washington Times): 

Rep. Ilhan Omar has been accused of using “ethno-racist rhetoric” by an official of the Republic of Somaliland. 

The rebuke followed Ms. Omar’s speech in Minneapolis in which she pledged her support for her native Somalia, though she later insisted her comments were misinterpreted. 

Some translations of a video of the speech, which Ms. Omar delivered in Somali, said she was telling Somali Americans that her “No. 1 job” is to look out for Somalia and that one day, the country will go after other territories to “unify all Somali-speaking people.” 

Rhoda Elmi, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister, said she was “profoundly surprised, even shocked” by the rhetoric from Ms. Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who is part of Congress’ far-left “Squad.” 

“The language she employed was regrettably unbecoming of both the office she holds and the constituents she represents,” the minister wrote on X. “Her expressions were lacking in common decency and revealed a significant lack of understanding of basic facts.” 

[…] 

Somaliland encompasses the northern part of Somalia and is the de facto government in that part of the country though no U.N. member recognizes it as a fully sovereign state. It thus has a status not unlike Taiwan, which is the only country in the world that does fully recognize it. 

Yet, it also rehashed an issue that Minnesota Democrats decried as a whacko conspiracy theory concerning changes to the state flag. The story first appeared last December (via Patch): 

The head of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is speaking out against a viral right-wing conspiracy theory linking an early version of the new Minnesota state flag to Somalia. 

State Republican Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar was among those this week who shared the theory on social media. Other versions of the conspiracy theory specifically claimed that Minnesota was conquered by U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and other Somali refugees. 

In a statement Wednesday, DFL Chairman Ken Martin wrote that "it’s embarrassing that Representative Natalie Zeleznikar would default to partisan politics over something as simple as a new state flag," adding that "having accomplished nothing for her district, Natalie Zeleznikar has now decided to double down on conspiracy theories and culture wars instead of governing." 

[…] 

Martin is not the only Minnesota Democrat to address the flag conspiracy theory. Omar — who became an American citizen after moving to the United States as a Somali refugee — light-heartedly addressed it as well. 

Are there striking similarities between the supposed cuckoo flag that never existed and the ones used by Omar supporters during her ‘cold dead hands’ Somalia speech? Maybe this was a case of misreading the flags, but while there are some similarities, it's not overly explicit. The speech is the more disturbing story involving Omar, along with her incessant and pervasive support for radical Islamic terror groups. Her record on the Hill is unhinged, anti-American, and all-around detrimental to our interests at home and abroad. We're fortunate Omar is somewhat contained, as her clout wasn't big enough to force a vote on a Gaza ceasefire. She and her squad gals may be loud, but they're not the primary voices for Democrats yet.