Rep. Ilhan Omar Greeted By Cheering Supporters At Minneapolis Airport

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) was greeted by cheers and ‘Welcome Home’ signs at baggage claim in Minneapolis-St. Paul airport upon her return to her home state of Minnesota last night.

Omar was one of four progressive freshman Congresswomen, along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-New York), Rashida Tlaib (D–Michigan) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusettes), who were attacked by Trump over Twitter and during a campaign speech. The attacks have been condemned by Democrats as racist and xenophobic.

The group of four, sometimes referred to as “The Squad,” are seen as the leftist-progressive wing of the Democratic party and representative of the growing population of young, diverse and liberal voters who have been energized in response to the Trump administration.

The congresswoman is the first in many categories – first Somali-American, first naturalized citizen from Africa and the first non-white woman elected from Minnesota, as well as one of the first two Muslim women (along with Tlaib) to serve in the House of Representatives.

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Supporters cheered “Welcome home Ilhan” and applauded when the  congresswoman arrived. The rally, though small-scale, shows the support which Omar enjoys in her home state and in the thoroughly blue 5th district which she represents. Omar was returning to her home state to attend a town hall forum in support of Medicare for All.

“It is really good to be home,” Omar said as she took the stage at the Minneapolis community center where the forum took place.

Before leaving the airport, Omar spoke to her supporters and declared she would “continue to be a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us.” She emphasized that she and the three congresswomen who form ‘The Squad’ have only been encouraged to fight harder in response to the president’s attacks. “We are not deterred, we are not frightened, we are ready. We are in the ring,” she said. “We are in the people’s house, and we are going to continue to fight it until we have the America we know we all deserve.”

Article by Dov Alberstone