Dalia al-Aqidi, a refugee from Iraq, told Fox News’s “FOX & Friends” on Friday that she launched a Republican bid for Congress to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) because Omar “is doing irreparable harm” to the country with “her hatred and racism.”
“I’m running because Ilhan Omar is doing irreparable harm not only to her district, not only to her state, to the whole country,” al-Aqidi said. “As an American citizen, my duty is to defend my country and my duty is to stand up to her hatred and racism that she’s spreading within her community, within the country, and even worldwide. I have a question for Ilhan Omar that needs to be answered. Ilhan Omar is harming every American with her hatred, her standing against what we believe in, against our own Constitution.”
“I believe in building bridges. We are not enemies,” al-Aqidi later added. “We are all Americans and we can fight together, and we can discuss issues together. Her achievement [is] she claims that she passed this and that in the Congress, which is the majority Democrat so it’s not achievement. She needs to work for her constituents. She needs to represent them.”
“She doesn’t care about her district. She’s done nothing for her district,” al-Aqidi continued. “All she’s done is to harm her district, harm her followers, so many now, they are looking for someone else, and I’m here to say, do you know what? We Americans, we’re not divided. We all love our country, and let’s not take your hate [for] Trump against America. We are all Americans, and we can stand together, defend our country.”
WATCH:
MORE: Pro-Trump Iraqi Refugee Launches GOP Congressional Bid Against Ilhan Omar: ‘She Must Be Stopped’
TRANSCRIPT:
AINSLEY EARDHARDT: Democratic fire brand Ilhan Omar has been no stranger to controversy during her first term in congress, so much so that our next guest hopes to stand in the way of a second.
PETE HEGSETH: Dalia al-Aqidi announcing her bid to unseat Omar in a fiery political ad.
EARHARDT: The new GOP candidate from Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District joins us now, good morning to you, Dalia.
DALIA AL-AQIDI: Good morning, from Minneapolis.
EARHARDT: Tell us about yourself and why you want to run.
AL-AQIDI: I’m running because Ilhan Omar is doing irreparable harm not only to her district, not only to her state, to the whole country. As an American citizen, my duty is to defend my country and my duty is to stand up to her hatred and racism that she’s spreading within her community, within the country, and even worldwide. I have a questions for Ilhan Omar that needs to be answered. Ilhan Omar is harming every American with her hatred, her standing against what we believe in, against our own Constitution.
HEGSETH: You’re not the only one with questions, its recently been reported that the FBI and ICE are looking into instances of perjury, immigration fraud, marriage fraud, she’s got plenty of problems. You go back to the division, she seems to always look at our country as the bad guy, and when you run in a district that’s heavily Democrat as a Republican, how do you frame your message to reach voters who feel like she just isn’t representing you?
AL-AQIDI: I believe in building bridges. We are not enemies. We are all Americans and we can fight together, and we can discuss issues together. Her achievement [is] she claims that she passed this and that in the Congress, which is the majority Democrat so it’s not achievement. She needs to work for her constituents. She needs to represent them. She doesn’t care about her district. She’s done nothing for her district. All she’s done is to harm her district, harm her followers, so many now, they are looking for someone else, and I’m here to say, do you know what? We Americans, we’re not divided. We all love our country, and let’s not take your hate [for] Trump against America. We are all Americans, and we can stand together, defend our country.
HEGSETH: Just briefly what does America mean to you?
AL-AQIDI: America is my dream. I came to the U.S. more than 25 years ago. So basically, I’m not a refugee anymore. I’m not an Iraqi anymore. I am an American, period. The reason why I said that I’m like her because I’m an American and a refugee and I’m a Muslim because that’s what she uses, but she has her ready accusations. If you even criticize her for her not doing her job, she’s ready to say, “Oh, you’re Islamophobic, oh, you’re anti-immigrant, oh you’re anti-refugee, anti, anti, anti,” so do you know what? I’m going to beat you in your own game and let’s talk face to face. America, for me, is my country. America opened the doors for me. I came as a young adult and I became an international journalist. I’ve covered wars and been through war zones all over the world. I know what I’m talking about. I’ve lived under tyranny and I’ve lived under Saddam Hussein. I know what division does to a country and I will never let it happen in this country.