When Rep. Ilhan Omar arrived in her home district in Minnesota Thursday night, she was greeted with a rather different chant than the one President Donald Trump's supporters shouted during a rally in North Carolina 24 hours earlier.
"Welcome home, Ilhan!" Omar's constituents chanted as the Minnesota Democrat and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) arrived at a Twin Cities airport ahead of a Medicare for All town hall.
Footage of Omar's return to her home state quickly went viral, and was viewed as the humane counter to the xenophobia and racism the president is stirring against the Minnesota Democrat and other women of color in Congress.
"This is the perfect example of how we should be welcoming all immigrants and refugees to this country," tweeted the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.
Congresswoman Omar just arrived back in the Twin Cities. pic.twitter.com/ZiFqWnDJgQ
— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) July 18, 2019
"What an incredible, heart-warming, beautiful welcome for Ilhan at the airport!" said Jayapal. "This is the America I love—full of welcome and generosity."
Omar's warm welcome also received international attention, with U.K. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeting, "Donald Trump says go home, Ilhan's community says welcome home."
Donald Trump says go home, @IlhanMN's community says welcome home. https://t.co/ZFr4uMbdwj
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 19, 2019
Omar and Jayapal went on to host a town hall on Medicare for All, where the Minnesota congresswoman received a standing ovation for continuing to fight for progressive causes as she is singled out for vile and dangerous abuse by the president.
"I know there are a lot of people that are trying to distract us right now, but we are not going to let them," Omar, a co-sponsor of the House Medicare for All legislation, said during the town hall, which was attended by an estimated 500 Minnesotans.
"Everybody is talking about [how Trump] is threatened because we criticize him. But the reality is that he is threatened because we are inspiring people to dream about a country that recognizes their dignity and humanity," said Omar. "We are not deterred, we are not frightened, we are ready. We are in the ring, we are in the people's House... we are going to continue fighting until we have the America we all deserve."
Watch the town hall:
LIVE:@RepJayapal and I are hosting Medicare For All Town Hall.
Come join us! https://t.co/jy2rc5D6gB
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) July 19, 2019
