“Full Frontal” host Samantha Bee came to the defense of freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar this week, saying that Democrats “threw her under the bus” regarding her anti-Semitic rhetoric. WATCH:
“For weeks now, congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been under fire for comments that some said were anti-Semitic,” Bee began. “First, because she tweeted, ‘It’s all about the Benjamins baby,’ in reference to the Israel lobby. Okay, whether she meant it that way or not, that was messed up. She should apologize.”
Bee attempted to defend Omar by noting that she did apologize when enough pressure was put upon her, which was immediately undone by the fact that Omar later spoke about how the Israel lobby forces Jews to have “dual loyalty.” The segment devolved into a series of whataboutisms as Bee attempted to paint Trump – whose own daughter and grandchildren are Jewish, and who moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem – as anti-Semitic for comments he made while speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition in 2015.
In the end, Bee felt that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is simply learning the ropes as she grapples with being a public figure while bringing “long overdue” conversations to the political forefront. She blasted Democrats for failing to properly defend her, even though the party largely excused her comments shortly after they condemned them.
“Democrats want to be the big tent diverse party,” Bee said. “They are more than willing to pose with Omar on magazines covers, but when she tried to talk about a truly difficult topic, which is her job as an elected official, and her life was in danger, they kind of threw her under the bus.”
“Ilhan Omar went from being a Somalian refugee to a fearless Congresswoman on the hill, and has demonstrated that she is willing to learn,” she continued. “She is part of a group of young progressives that is starting a lot of uncomfortable and overdue conversations on the left about climate change, and health care, and yes, Israel and Palestine. The Democrats need to let them have that conversation respectfully and not let Republicans drive the bus.”
Samantha Bee neglected to mention the fact that while Ilhan Omar has some fierce defenders on the far-left, she also has her supporters on the far-right, many of whom view her anti-Jewish comments as “important.” Take, for example, former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, who said that Ilhan Omar is the “most important member of Congress.”
“Dr Duke & Eric Striker: By Defiance to Z.O.G. Ilhan Omar is NOW the most important Member of the US Congress!” Duke tweeted last week alongside a picture of Omar with smiley face covered in hearts.
The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti noted Thursday that Democrats are now becoming so fed-up with Omar that they may be seeking a primary challenger. Citing a report by The Hill, Zanotti explained that “Minnesota Dems are so frustrated with what they see as Omar’s blatant anti-Semitism and refusal to learn from her mistakes that they’re already talking about holding recruitment for a primary challenger, even though Omar has been in office less than three months.”