Ilhan Omar Lashes Out At Democratic Challenger Over Comments About Her Looks

Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been in the news a lot over the past month due to her pro-Palestine stance in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Her recent comments, which have been critical of both Israel and the United States’ response to the conflict, have led to calls for her to be primaried.

Don Samuels, who nearly defeated Omar in the 2022 primary announced that he plans on challenging her again in the next election.

During an appearance on a podcast last week, Samuels said the ‘Squad’ member is ‘not cute enough’ to ignore voters, prompting blowback from the contentious lawmaker.

Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, one of the primary challengers to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), mentioned a reason he thinks she’s unfit for office:

Omar is allegedly “not cute enough.” 🙄 https://t.co/RyTmuqa5XG

— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 30, 2023

From Fox News:

Samuels, who nearly defeated Omar during the 2022 Democratic primary, made the comments during a Nov. 21 appearance on “The Break Down with Brodkorb and Becky” podcast while speaking on how Omar is not “responsive” to her constituents.

Don Samuels in a recent podcast appearance, going after Rep. Ilhan Omar over what he says is a lack of responsiveness to constituents: "You're not cute enough, you don't dress well enough, nothing about you is attractive enough to overcome that deficit."https://t.co/RliIaztWjN pic.twitter.com/jrz5vYJz2T

— Wedge LIVE!™ (@WedgeLIVE) November 28, 2023

“And so to see government not be responsive like that to the people who pay them, it is offensive to me,” Samuels said on the podcast. “And to not be responsive and available to those people? To meet with them and find out what their concerns are and to answer their tough questions? To not get back to people on the phone? Who do you think you are? And who do you think you’re working for? You’re not cute enough, you don’t dress well enough, nothing about you is attractive enough to overcome that deficit.”

Samuels’ comments provoked Omar to react on social media, where she said his remarks were “beneath the dignity of any adult” and sexist.

“This is beneath the dignity of any adult, let alone someone seeking public office,” Omar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It is reminiscent of the worst kinds of lies and misogyny that we are hearing from people like Donald Trump, who think they can say anything about women and get away with it.”

This is beneath the dignity of any adult, let alone someone seeking public office. It is reminiscent of the worst kinds of lies and misogyny that we are hearing from people like Donald Trump, who think they can say anything about women and get away with it. Like Trump, instead of… https://t.co/9j7BK3UehX

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 29, 2023

“Like Trump, instead of engaging in an adult debate, [Don Samuels] relies on lies and sexism,” she added. “We need civility now more than ever and Don’s behavior should be alarming to anyone who agrees.”

Samuels, a former Minneapolis City Council member, is again challenging Omar during the 2024 elections after narrowly losing to her in the 2022 Democratic primary.