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ilhan omar
No President 'More Brazenly Corrupt' Than Trump, Says Ilhan Omar
Responding to Trump's slur that Somali Americans are "all crooks," Omar said the president "uses fraud as a political cudgel while protecting his donor base and enriching himself."
Jun 02, 2026
US Rep. Ilhan Omar issued a blistering response to President Donald Trump's attacks on Minnesota and its Somali community on Tuesday with a Guardian opinion piece arguing that "there has never been a more brazenly corrupt president."
The Democratic Minneapolis congresswoman has weathered ceaseless personal insults from the president since first ascending to office in 2019 that have grown increasingly racist in his second term—threatening to strip her of her US citizenship and "throw her the hell out" of the country and referring to Somalis collectively as "garbage"and "very low-IQ people," who should all be deported despite mostly being legal US citizens.
"Any keen observer will recognize the pattern of inciting hostility against me and the Somali community whenever his own failures and corruption catches up to him," Omar said. "He routinely reaches for the same tired playbook of lies, racism, and deflection."
Trump called me “crooked as hell” while spreading lies about the fraud in Minnesota.He's not interested in fighting fraud. He's interested in using fraud as a political weapon while enriching himself and his allies.My op-ed in the @theguardian.com ⬇️
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— Ilhan Omar (@ilhanmn.bsky.social) June 2, 2026 at 11:38 AM
During a Cabinet meeting last week, Trump launched into yet another tirade: “The Somalians, what they’ve done to Minnesota, the Somalians, crooked as hell. Ilhan Omar, crooked as hell,” he said. “They’re all crooks, and we got them, we got them. Now we’re putting the clamps on."
Trump was referring to a series of fraud cases in the state, in which organizations—many of which were run by Somali Americans—were found to have diverted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds meant for food assistance, disability, and childcare, mostly in investigations that began during the Biden administration.
But as Omar wrote on Tuesday, Trump "uses fraud as a political cudgel while protecting his donor base and enriching himself."
"The truth is, Trump doesn’t care about addressing fraud," she said. "He has repeatedly pardoned and rewarded some of the most brazen financial criminals."
As Omar detailed:
He pardoned Philip Esformes, convicted in what his own Department of Justice described as the “largest healthcare fraud scheme ever charged.”
He granted clemency to Lawrence Duran after a $205 million fraud conviction. He commuted Jason Galanis’ sentence and pardoned Devon Archer, who were both tied to tens of millions in fraud, and also pardoned Joseph Schwartz for a $38 million fraud scheme, and reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley for multimillion-dollar bank fraud. He’s now defrauding the American people further by creating a $1.8 billion slush fund of taxpayer dollars to compensate people he pardoned for beating cops and ransacking the US Capitol on January 6 after they pleaded guilty or were convicted of such crimes.
After losing a court case and facing bipartisan backlash in Congress, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed on Tuesday that the administration was backing off the $1.8 billion fund.
Omar acknowledged the fraud cases in Minnesota, such as the Feeding Our Future nonprofit scandal, in which 65 people connected to the scheme have been convicted of stealing money intended to feed children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We should all collectively care about the damage that these criminals have done to public faith in programs that save lives and feed children," Omar said. "But instead of addressing the fraud equally and without exception, Trump and his cronies have turned combating fraud into a partisan spectacle defined by a level of racist vitriol that just years ago would have shocked most Republicans, not to mention the American people at large."
"While Minnesota leaders were prosecuting thieves, Trump was letting them out of prison," she added. "He enriches himself, his family profits from crypto deals, and world leaders understand that the presidency is now for sale. His underhanded operation racks up billions for his family and friends while working Americans struggle to afford basic necessities."
The Trump administration has used fraud cases in Minnesota to inflict a sort of collective economic punishment on its poorest residents.
Using outlandish allegations that Somalis were looting tens of billions from Medicaid, the administration has frozen more than $350 million in federal Medicaid reimbursements owed to Minnesota and threatened to withhold more than $2 billion annually, which state officials have warned will destabilize benefits for the 1.2 million Minnesotans who rely on the program.
"The reality is that Trump and Republicans are not interested in combating fraud and corruption or having a real conversation to address it. They are interested in ransacking the public good for their own profit," Omar said. "They are interested in clicks, outrage, and theatrics in order to deflect from their own corruption. The American people deserve better than a president who uses the pretense of accountability to punish his opponents and reward his allies."
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The Moral Insanity of Trump's Endless Warmongering
Politically, war and militarism are taken utterly for granted, but the “creation of peace” is controversial. Why?
May 23, 2026
“In the 21st century, the United States has spent almost $8 trillion on foreign wars, with nearly 5 million lives lost.”
And we’re only a quarter of the way into the century. Are we aiming for 20 million dead civilians by 2100? Here’s a recent Truth Social post from the current president: “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.”
There’s a moral insanity to these words, hiding behind a ho-hum collective shrug. People either brush it off as “just talk” or, even more ominously, nod their heads and smile in agreement. Yeah, he’s keeping us safe. War, the planet’s great, lethal abstraction, is necessary. It keeps us safe. It eliminates evil. Yada, yada. No matter it does none of those things—indeed, does just the opposite. Public acceptance of the inevitability and necessity of war has been expanding throughout my lifetime.
The quote at the top of the column, tossing out a few incomprehensible statistics, is one of the findings included in the 2025 bill presented before Congress to establish a Department of Peacebuilding, introduced by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). It’s the most recent in a long, long line of bills and proposals over the years, meant to establish peace—whatever that is—as a matter of national significance and responsibility. No such bill has ever been passed; all have remained marginal... and no doubt cynically dismissed.
Probably the only way to gain political traction is to focus on peace not as political or ideological, but as structurally logical. Peacebuilding works!
Politically, war and militarism, as well as armed policing and the prison-industrial complex—all of which are funded annually by multitrillions of dollars of the federal and other public budgets—are taken utterly for granted. But the “creation of peace” is controversial. Why?
Of all the questions buzzing around in my mind, this is perhaps the largest—and most predatory. Here are some more findings from the 2025 Department of Peacebuilding bill:
- “According to the Centre for Global Research, the United States has been at war for more than 90% of its existence. Many of our citizens today have never known a peaceful year in their lifetimes..."
- “Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Native Americans aged 10 to 34. Approximately 17 veterans a day commit suicide nationwide. About 12 young people in the United States die from homicides each day..."
- “Each day, an average of 132 people died from gun violence—one death every 11 minutes. In 2024, there were more than 500 mass shootings... Young people go to school wondering where to hide when a shooter enters their classroom."
And on and on. The bill also notes:
The preamble of the Earth Charter provides, "To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.”
Which country would you rather live in? That country or this one, as summed up by “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth:
America, regardless of what so-called international institutions say, is unleashing the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history. B-2s, fighters, drones, missiles, and of course classified effects. All on our terms with maximum authorities. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win, and we don't waste time or lives.
Can peacebuilding even be acknowledged as legitimate in such a culture? The ever-present necessity of war not only unites the nation state—it’s us vs. the bad guys, the commies, the terrorists, or whoever—it provides moral protection for those who have already committed or supported murder of “the other,” including the murder of children. Including genocide. The vet suicide rate is an example of what happens when this moral protection vanishes.
What a complex reality faced by those of us who believe—with all our hearts—in the recognition and establishment of peacebuilding at the national level. Probably the only way to gain political traction is to focus on peace not as political or ideological, but as structurally logical. Peacebuilding works! Restorative Justice is certainly one example: creating a structure of healing for people harmed by a crime, rather than simply hunting down and punishing the “offender,” changing nothing.
Of course, another problem faced by peacebuilders is that the current violence-based, non-functional system is lucrative for investors—in weaponry, prisons, etc. How dare those peaceniks challenge this!
All we can do is refuse to give up—and refuse to look at “peace” as an us-vs.-them problem, easy (and tempting) as that is to do. The powerful will, and should, also benefit from peacebuilding, though not perhaps in a way they can understand. Power comes with connection, not domination.
Note: I’ll continue to address this issue and, indeed, continue writing my column, even though this is the last one being syndicated by the Chicago Tribune, after 27 years.
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'Narrow-Minded and Xenophobic' Nancy Mace Ripped for Proposed Ban on Naturalized Citizens Serving in Congress
Called out by name, Rep. Pramila Jayapal said her Republican colleague had introduced "racist legislation that denies the very history of a country that has been proudly shaped by immigrants."
May 20, 2026
US Rep. Pramila Jayapal called on her colleagues from both sides of the aisle to condemn legislation proposed by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace on Wednesday, which would bar naturalized citizens from serving in Congress, on the federal judiciary, and as Senate-confirmed Cabinet members.
“Instead of working to help the American people, as so many cannot keep the lights on, keep food on the table, or pay their rent, Nancy Mace is instead introducing racist legislation that denies the very history of a country that has been proudly shaped by immigrants," the Washington Democrat said in a statement. "This is also insulting to the hundreds of thousands of constituents who elected naturalized citizens into office."
Jayapal was one of three Democratic members of Congress who were specifically called out by Mace (R-SC) when she posted about her proposal on social media Wednesday. She also named Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a frequent target of openly racist Republican attacks, and Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.).
Mace claimed that the foreign-born elected officials make clear "every single day their loyalty is not to America," without naming any examples to back up the spurious and hateful allegation.
"The people writing America's laws, confirming America's judges, and representing America on the world stage should have one loyalty: America," said Mace. "Not any other country. For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first. We see it every day."
The proposed legislation would amend the US Constitution to say only people who were citizens at birth can serve in Congress.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus was quick to point out that several Republican members of Congress, including President Donald Trump ally Reps. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who was born in Colombia, and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), would be forced out of Congress if the legislation passed.
Mace announced her proposal a day after Vice President JD Vance said the US Department of Justice is investigating Omar, who came to the US as a refugee from Somalia as a child, for alleged immigration fraud. There is no evidence the congresswoman committed fraud to come to the US.
Jayapal issued a reminder that "with the exception of Native Americans, every person in this country—including Nancy Mace—is descended from immigrants. And America is made stronger by the people from across the world with diverse talents who come here to live and work."
“This narrow-minded, xenophobic legislation has no place in Congress, and I call on all my colleagues—including my Republican colleagues who are naturalized citizens—to condemn this.”
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