Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota responded sharply to a question from a conservative reporter Thursday, after being asked whether more Democratic lawmakers should travel to El Salvador to advocate for the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident wrongfully deported earlier this year by the Trump administration.
The exchange took place near Capitol Hill, where Myles Morell, a reporter with The Daily Caller News Foundation, approached Omar as she was walking with staff. His question referenced a recent wave of Democratic support for Abrego Garcia, including visits to El Salvador by Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Yassamin Ansari.
“Do you think more of your Democratic colleagues should be traveling to El Salvador to advocate on behalf of Abrego Garcia?” Morell asked.
Omar, visibly unimpressed with the line of questioning, responded directly. “I think you should f—k off,” she said, continuing past the reporter.
Surprised, Morell followed up. “I’m sorry, what, congresswoman? Who should?”
“You,” Omar replied, without breaking stride.
The moment, captured on video by Morell’s team and later posted online, sparked immediate backlash from conservative circles. The clip quickly spread across social media platforms, where right-wing commentators and Republican officials denounced Omar’s reaction.
In a follow-up post, Morell described the exchange as unprofessional and said he was simply doing his job. “I just found that very unprofessional, very rude, especially when I was just a journalist who’s trying to do his job,” he said in a video posted to his personal account. “I’ve spent the day asking members of Congress whether they would join efforts to bring back Mr. Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported.”
In the hours that followed, conservative voices amplified the video. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina reposted the footage, writing, “Waiting for Dem outrage over her choice of words.” Other political figures including Charlie Kirk, Tomi Lahren, and Piers Morgan joined in, accusing Omar of disrespect, hypocrisy, and lacking civility.
Kirk described Omar as “a disgrace to the U.S. Congress,” while Lahren labeled her “a nasty woman.” Morgan added, “Reminder: Democrats say Donald Trump has lowered the tone of political rhetoric.”
But Omar showed no signs of backing down. She responded directly to one of the viral posts, writing, “I said what I said. You and all your miserable trolls can f—k off.”
The Minnesota congresswoman has become known for her blunt and often confrontational tone when engaging with members of the press and political opponents, particularly those affiliated with right-wing media.
This latest incident is not the first time Omar has clashed with conservative reporters. In March, she was involved in a tense elevator exchange with Johnny Belisario, a Fox News journalist, who approached her with a question about why she chose not to stand during President Trump’s joint address to Congress.
“You need to move,” Omar told him, pressing the elevator button to close the doors. “Have a good day. I need to go to a meeting.”
Last year, she dismissed another Fox reporter by shushing him after he raised a question about comments she had made regarding Jewish advocacy groups. At the time, she had been criticized for saying that some Jewish voices in American politics were “pro-genocide.” She later clarified her remarks but continued to defend her broader position on human rights issues related to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In October 2023, Omar labeled a Fox Business journalist a “crazy lady” during a contentious exchange over ceasefire negotiations in the Middle East. She was also seen on video raising her voice at another reporter asking about her stance on the same issue.
Her critics argue that such behavior reflects a broader unwillingness to answer difficult questions. Her defenders counter that she is often targeted with bad faith questions from media outlets that have shown clear ideological opposition to her presence in Congress.
Thursday’s confrontation took place just after Omar participated in a rally outside the White House in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The rally called for an urgent reversal of the deportation order and demanded accountability from the Trump administration, which used a rarely invoked wartime statute to justify the deportation of Abrego Garcia and more than 250 others earlier this year.
Abrego Garcia, a legal resident of Maryland, was deported to El Salvador despite holding a valid work permit and no criminal record. His case has become a flashpoint for immigration advocates and members of Congress who view the deportation as an abuse of executive authority under the Alien Enemies Act, a law originally passed in 1798.
Omar has been one of the most outspoken critics of the policy and was among the first lawmakers to call the deportations a “direct attack on legal due process.” She has introduced legislation aimed at curbing presidential power to use wartime laws in peacetime immigration enforcement.
Her support for Abrego Garcia has earned her praise from progressive circles but also intensified opposition from conservatives who argue that the administration’s national security rationale should not be second-guessed by lawmakers.
The rally this week featured speeches from immigrant rights activists, legal scholars, and relatives of the deported individuals. Omar joined them onstage and emphasized the importance of challenging the normalization of what she called “inhumane and illegal deportations.”
“As long as this Congress allows unconstitutional orders to stand unchallenged, we are complicit,” she said during the event.
Her unfiltered approach to both policy and press interactions has made her a lightning rod in Washington. Though some Democratic colleagues have privately voiced concerns about her confrontational style, few have been willing to publicly criticize her — particularly when the attacks come from hard-right media outlets and figures who have themselves trafficked in inflammatory rhetoric.
Despite the renewed criticism following Thursday’s encounter, Omar has not indicated any regret. In her view, the focus should remain on the issue at hand: the status of a man deported under questionable legal justification and the broader implications for civil liberties under the current administration.
For now, the video of her response continues to make the rounds online, reigniting debates over decorum, press access, and the role of lawmakers when challenged by partisan media. But Omar’s message remains unchanged.
Asked later by a colleague about the incident, Omar reportedly responded with a shrug. “I’ve got work to do,” she said.
