On Friday, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton attended a vigil at New York University to mourn the victims of the New Zealand mosque shooting in which 50 people were murdered.
During the vigil, NYU student Leen Dweik approached Clinton and began harassing her, claiming that she had “stoked” the “massacre” because of a tweet in which she criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) anti-Semitic language.
Here’s the tweet:
Dweik said: “This right here is the result of a massacre stoked by people like you and the words that you put out into the world. And I want you to know that and I want you to feel that deep inside. 49 people died because of the rhetoric you put out there.”
As the people around Dweik snapped in approval, Clinton said, “I’m so sorry you feel that way.” This prompted someone in the crowd to loudly question what Clinton meant by that.
The confrontation has created strange bedfellows in the media. On Saturday, Donald Trump Jr. came out in defense of Clinton, tweeting:
It’s sickening to see people blame @ChelseaClinton for the NZ attacks because she spoke out against anti-Semitism. We should all be condemning anti-Semitism & all forms of hate. Chelsea should be praised for speaking up. Anyone who doesn’t understand this is part of the problem.
Now, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) has defended Clinton. Replying to a tweet from Linda Sarsour in which the activist claimed to be “triggered by those who piled on Representative Ilhan Omar and incited a hate mob against her,” Crenshaw tweeted:
This is the kind of insanity poisoning young minds, and led to the terrible accusations against Chelsea Clinton at NYU. Chelsea Clinton is not to blame. Also, if I ever say “I am triggered” non-sarcastically, please kick me out of Congress.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has gotten herself in hot water on multiple occasions.
It was revealed that in 2012, she tweeted that Israel had “hypnotized the world,” and asked that “Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
After an initial attempt to defend the alleged intent of the tweet, Omar has since apologized for the language that she used in 2012, writing: “It’s now apparent to me that I spent lots of energy putting my 2012 tweet in context and little energy is disavowing the anti-semitic trope I unknowingly used, which is unfortunate and offensive.”
Following her apology, the congresswoman defended her right to criticize governments, quoted Martin Luther King Jr., and wrote of the “many narratives” regarding who she is, which are allegedly “designed to demonize and vilify [her].”
Rep. Omar has ignited controversy on multiple occasions since her election. The storm surrounding her repeated anti-Semitic remarks (which you can read about here) became such a point of contention that the House of Representatives actually passed a resolution denouncing “hate.”
Although the resolution originally condemned only anti-Semitism, The Hill reports that “progressives and members of minority caucuses” were upset by the original text, and argued “that the resolution shouldn’t single out Omar and called for a more general anti-hate measure,” which is what eventually passed.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is planning a resolution that will exclusively condemn anti-Semitism.
The Daily Wire reached out to Rep. Crenshaw’s team for further comment, but as of publication, we have not received a reply.