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Rep. Ilhan Omar Faces Criticism Over “World War Eleven” Verbal Slip
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has drawn widespread criticism after a resurfaced video showed her mistakenly referring to World War II as “World War Eleven” during a Capitol Hill news conference last year.
The error occurred while Omar was delivering opening remarks at a Democratic press conference on the reintroduction of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, legislation aimed at opposing then-President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, particularly his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.
“The last time the Alien Enemies Act was invoked it was used to detain and deport German, Japanese, Italian immigrants during World War Eleven,” Omar stated before quickly correcting herself with “Oh, two,” accompanied by laughter.
The clip has gained renewed attention as Omar’s Minneapolis district faces increased scrutiny amid a massive federal fraud investigation involving the Somali immigrant community. Federal agents recently executed 22 search warrants at various locations, including childcare centers suspected of billing for services that were never provided.
Among the social media reactions, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) mocked Omar’s mistake, posting “‘World War Eleven’… Yes, that was deadly.” In a separate post, Lee juxtaposed the error with another clip showing Omar calling Trump voters “idiots” and lamenting that “the dumbing of the United States has arrived.”
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk joined the commentary with a grimacing emoji, while conservative activist Chloe Cole wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Absolutely in awe of this clip of Ilhan Omar calling World War II ‘World War Eleven.'”
Some critics connected the verbal slip to the ongoing fraud investigations in Minnesota. A popular conservative account referenced one of the Minneapolis daycare centers allegedly involved in fraud, which had misspelled its name on signage as “Quality Learing Center” instead of “Quality Learning Center.”
Conservative podcast host Matt Walsh was particularly harsh in his assessment, writing, “Consider the astronomical levels of stupidity on display here. Ilhan Omar doesn’t know how to read Roman numerals AND she thinks there have been 11 world wars.”
The timing of the renewed criticism coincides with intensified federal investigation into alleged fraud schemes in Minnesota. Sources told Fox News that two of the recent raids were conducted at the Quality Learning Center and Baby Halimo Child Care, both located in Minneapolis.
Omar, who in 2018 became the first Somali American elected to Congress, has been critical of the federal investigation’s approach. In a January interview with CBS News, she expressed concern that the Trump administration’s handling of the situation “is harming my constituents, and it is creating the kind of chaos and confusion that no one needs in this moment.”
“We want to collaboratively work with the administration to try to make sure that there is no fraud that’s being perpetuated on our state,” Omar stated during the interview. “What we do not want is the level of terror, of confusion, of chaos that is being created without any results in this moment.”
The Neighbors Not Enemies Act, which Omar was discussing when she made the verbal error, did not ultimately pass Congress. The legislation was designed to repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants the president broad authority to detain, relocate or deport non-citizens during wartime.
Fox News Digital reached out to Rep. Omar’s office for comment on the resurfaced video, but no response was reported at the time of publication.
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10 Comments
It’s disappointing to see this being used to discredit Rep. Omar. Everyone misspeak occasionally, and she promptly corrected herself. I hope the media and her critics will focus on the actual policies and challenges she’s addressing, not trivial verbal errors.
Exactly, let’s not lose sight of the important work she’s doing. A brief verbal slip-up shouldn’t overshadow the substantive issues she’s trying to address.
While the ‘World War Eleven’ comment was an amusing slip-up, I hope it doesn’t become a distraction from the important work Rep. Omar is doing. We all misspeak at times – the key is owning up to it, which she did immediately.
While the ‘World War Eleven’ comment was an amusing slip, I hope it doesn’t distract from the real legislation and community concerns Rep. Omar is tackling. We all misspeak sometimes – the key is owning up to it, which she did promptly.
I hope this incident doesn’t become a major distraction. While the ‘World War Eleven’ comment was a funny slip, Rep. Omar quickly corrected herself. Let’s keep the focus on the important issues she’s addressing in her community and legislation.
It’s unfortunate that this minor verbal gaffe is being used to attack Rep. Omar. We should focus on the substance of her work and the real challenges facing her constituents, not trivial slip-ups. Politicians are human too, and these things happen.
Ah, an honest mistake – we’ve all had those moments where our words get a bit jumbled. The important thing is that Rep. Omar quickly corrected herself. Let’s hope this incident doesn’t become a distraction from the real issues her community is facing.
I agree, these types of verbal slips happen sometimes. The main focus should be on the substance of her legislation and the issues she’s working on, not minor flubs.
Mistakes happen, even for experienced politicians. The key is acknowledging them and moving forward. I hope the media and Rep. Omar’s critics will resist the urge to blow this out of proportion and instead discuss the substantive work she’s doing.
Well said. A momentary verbal slip shouldn’t overshadow the real issues Rep. Omar is tackling. Let’s keep the focus on her policy priorities and the challenges facing her constituents.