ADVERTISEMENT

Top House Democrat Praises Omar: 'Incredible Young Lady' With a 'Tremendous Future'

February 14, 2019

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) praised new Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) on Thursday after she was embroiled in another anti-Semitic controversy this week, calling her an "incredible young lady" with a bright future.

Omar was forced to apologize on Monday by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and some of her Democratic colleagues after claiming pro-Israel politicians are paid off by the lobbying group AIPAC. A supporter of the anti-Israel BDS movement, which has been called anti-Semitic by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), Omar also recently said she used "unfortunate" language in a 2012 tweet where she said Israel had "hypnotized the world."

"I wish we would just go on and stop beating up on people when they make a mistake," Clyburn said on CNN. "All of us have misspoken at one time or another. All of us have to learn the processes up here. I think she's an incredible young lady who has a tremendous future in politics, and I'm going to be as supportive as I possibly can of her, and I wish we would just go on and put this behind us."

Clyburn said he had a "very long talk with her" about her recent remarks and called her "very sincere" in her apology. Omar tweeted she was "listening and learning, but standing strong." She said "I unequivocally apologize" but added AIPAC was among the lobbysists playing a "problematic role in our politics."

President Donald Trump called on her to resign for her tweets, or at the very least be kicked off the House Foreign Affairs Committee, leading her to retort he had "trafficked in hate his whole life." Omar also put up a fundraising page after Trump's comments.