Editor’s Note: A Somali-speaking reporter for the Star-Tribune claims the quote from Omar actually translates like this: “My answer was the U.S. government will do what we tell the U.S. government to do. We as Somalis should have that confidence in ourselves. We live in this country. We pay taxes in this country. It’s a country where one of your own sits in Congress.” Moreover, the deputy minister mentioned in your article is, in fact, the original source of the mistranslation, according to The Dispatch. The Dispatch spoke with a Minnesota journalist who noted that the deputy minister has some level of political disagreement with Rep. Omar and that there is “so much motive here to distort what [Omar] is saying and to create a mess for Omar in her domestic politics.”
Ilhan Omar delivered a fiery speech in Somali, urging Somali-Americans to prioritize their Somali and Muslim identities over American ones and to protect Somali interests.
The accuracy of the translation was confirmed by a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from Somaliland.
Critics argue that she is working against American interests and should be expelled from Congress.
Expel from Congress, denaturalize and deport! https://t.co/UyjEmSSIoQ
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 30, 2024
“The US government will do what we Somalians in the U.S. tell them to do. They will do what we want and nothing else. That is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia. .. I am here to protect the interests of Somalia from inside the U.S. system. [I’m] working day and night to protect your interests. … Together we will protect the interests of Somalia,” Omar said.
Omar has not directly addressed the translation but dismissed it as propaganda, while her defenders claim she is representing the interests of Somalis in the U.S.
“It’s not only slanted but completely off, but I wouldn’t expect more from these propagandists. I pray for them and for their sanity,” she said.
It’s not only slanted but completely off, but I wouldn’t expect more from these propagandists. I pray for them and for their sanity. No nation state can survive if its states start to get involved in land lease negotiations with other countries without the consent of the federal… https://t.co/bmdEAN6aUH
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 28, 2024
“No nation state can survive if its states start to get involved in land lease negotiations with other countries without the consent of the federal government. Somalis in Somalia and in the diaspora are united in that effort and I stand in solidarity with them. No amount of harassment and lies will ever change that.”
Ilhan Omar tells a crowd of Somalians that her top priority is to put Somalia first and expand its territory
"The US government will do what we want, nothing else. They must follow our orders. That is how we safeguard the interest of Somalia."
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 28, 2024
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