Ilhan Omar Cusses Out Right-Wing Reporter Over Question on Wrongfully Deported Man
Rep. Ilhan Omar had no patience for a right-wing journalist who asked about her colleagues' trips to El Salvador Thursday.
The Democratic congresswoman cussed out Myles Morell from conservative news website The Daily Caller on Thursday after he asked her about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported by the Trump administration.
'Do you think more of your Democratic colleagues should be traveling to El Salvador to advocate on behalf of Abrego Garcia?' Morell asked Omar, referencing recent trips by liberal lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Yassamin Ansari, to visit the deportee.
'I think you should f–k off,' Omar responded as she and her team walked past the reporter.
'I'm sorry, what, congresswoman? Who should?' Morell responded.
'You,' the lawmaker doubled down.
In a video posted on X following the tense interaction, Morell said he had been spending the day asking House Democrats if they would encourage their colleagues to fly to El Salvador to advocate for Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.
'I just found that very unprofessional, very rude, especially when I was just a journalist who's trying to do his job,' he said of Omar's response.
'Always a pleasure to see you,' Morell wrote in another post, tagging Omar's account.
The clip sparked a firestorm in MAGAworld.
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace reposted The Daily Caller's video, writing: 'Waiting for Dem outrage over her choice of words.'
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk said Omar 'has no class, no gratitude to America, and no honor,' adding that she was 'truly a disgrace to the U.S. Congress.'
MAGA commentator Tomi Lahren similarly said Omar was a 'nasty woman.'
'Reminder: Democrats say Donald Trump has lowered the tone of political rhetoric,' conservative pundit Piers Morgan said.
Despite the outrage, Omar offered no apologies.
'I said what I said,' she wrote in response to a post by MAGA influencer Libs of TikTok. 'You and all your miserable trolls can f*ck off.'
The Minnesota representative has had several heated clashes with conservative reporters in the past.
In March, she pushed Fox News reporter Johnny Belisario out of an elevator while he was asking her why she refused to stand during President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress.
'You need to move,' Omar told the reporter as she closed the elevator on him. 'Have a good day. I need to go to a meeting.'
Last year, she shushed another Fox News reporter who asked her about comments she made suggesting that there were 'pro-genocide' Jews.
In October 2023, Omar called a Fox Business reporter a 'crazy lady' as she evaded questions about an Israel-Palestine ceasefire. Later that month, she yelled in exasperation in response to another question about the issue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
24 minutes ago
- Fox News
Cuomo attacked during debate by fellow Dems for allegedly lying to Congress about COVID nursing home scandal
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was blasted by fellow Democrats running against him to be the next mayor of New York City for lying to Congress, an allegation pushed by Republicans that the Trump administration is currently investigating. Cuomo repeatedly dismissed questions throughout Wednesday night's debate on whether he lied to Congress about his role in drafting a New York State Department of Health report that officials determined had undercounted the number of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Cuomo blasted the current investigation as a symptom of partisan politics and insisted the report in question "did not undercount the deaths." "The people died and he still won't answer your questions," Cuomo's opponent, Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman from the Bronx, said after Cuomo failed to provide a straight answer. Blake's retort resulted in one of the debate moderators asking Cuomo once again to respond to the allegations that he lied to Congress about his role in drafting the report that undercounted the number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths. This time, he engaged. "No, I told Congress the truth," Cuomo relented. "No, we did not undercount any deaths," he added. "When they are all counted, we're number 38 out of 50, which I think, shows that compared to what other states went through, we had it first and worst, and that only 12 states had a lower rate of death – we should really be thanking the women and men who worked on those things." "It's just a yes or no question," the moderator shot back at Cuomo. "Were you involved in the producing of that report?" However, Cuomo still did not address the question directly, leading to laughter from his opponents. "It's not only that Andrew Cuomo lied to Congress – which is perjury – he also lied to the grieving families whose loved ones he sent in to those nursing homes to protect his $5 million book deal," said Brad Lander, New York City's comptroller. "That's corruption." Last month, the Trump administration's Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation to get to the bottom of whether Cuomo lied to Congress about the decisions he made during the COVID-19 pandemic while serving as governor. In March 2020, Cuomo issued a directive that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. The directive was meant to free up beds for overwhelmed hospitals, but more than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were ultimately released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks. Subsequently, a report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo's Health Department "was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes" and it "understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%" during some points of the pandemic. New York Attorney General Letitia James similarly released a report amid the pandemic showing New York state nursing home deaths had been undercounted.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
While Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker scored wins during legislative session, cellphone ban, other initiatives fell short
CHICAGO — Entering a legislative session amid questions about whether he'd run for a third term, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker outlined an ambitious agenda that ended with mixed results. In a State of the State and budget address in February that will be remembered mainly for Pritzker invoking Nazi Germany to describe the new presidential administration, there was also a litany of policy initiatives — some of which passed and will now have a tangible impact on Illinoisans and others that went nowhere in the spring legislative session that just wrapped up. 'You don't get everything done in one year. I think the Senate president can back me up on that, and lots of people in the General Assembly,' Pritzker said Sunday at his end-of-session news conference in Springfield, flanked by Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park. 'Sometimes they spend two years, four years, six years trying to get something big done. I think we've been hyper-successful about getting things done in a shorter period of time than expected.' But Pritzker's mixed scorecard also revealed tensions between his agenda and those in the Legislative Black Caucus. More than once, Black caucus members balked at Pritzker's plans as they didn't see their wants and needs fully addressed during a legislative session that focused heavily on fiscal issues and a tight budget. Indeed, while the governor's backing puts political capital behind any policy proposal, that didn't mean it was guaranteed to pass through the sometimes splintered Democratic supermajorities in the state House and Senate. Here are some examples of where the governor accomplished what he set out to do — and a few places where he came up short. What Pritzker said: 'This session, I'll move forward with legislation requiring all school districts in Illinois to adopt a cellphone policy that bans the use of phones during classroom instruction. More focus on learning will bring even greater success for kids across our state.' Status: Did not pass. A coalition of Illinois House lawmakers blocked the measure when it came to the House late in the session over concerns about unequal disciplinary impacts, according to bill sponsor, Democratic state Rep. Michelle Mussman of Schaumburg. Concerns about enforcement disproportionately affecting Black and brown students became more pronounced as lawmakers reviewed the phone restriction alongside another bill limiting police from ticketing students for minor misbehavior, according to Mussman. Legislators were hesitant to pass a statewide school mandate while also debating a measure meant to scale back school discipline practices, she said. Rep. Curtis Tarver, a Chicago Democrat and a member of the Black caucus, told the Tribune in February he worried about the 'unintended consequences' of a phone ban, including inequitable enforcement. The legislation against ticketing and fines passed both chambers and now heads to Pritzker's desk for his signature. A Chicago Tribune and ProPublica investigation found school districts used local law enforcement to fine students, and Black students were twice as likely to be ticketed at school as their white peers, a pattern lawmakers aimed to end. Pritzker's cellphone policy will have to wait for another session when there's more time to work out the enforcement aspect, Mussman said. The measure would have required school districts to adopt guidelines prohibiting students from using wireless devices, such as cellphones and smartwatches, during instructional time, while providing secure and accessible storage for the devices, before the 2026-2027 school year. The legislation also included a few exceptions, such as permitting students to use phones in emergencies. In the end, negotiations around the measure came down to a 'dance' between ensuring local school boards had control over their own policies while also protecting students from 'inequitably applied' policies, Mussman said. Moreover, representatives were unsure how to implement guidance on 'how a phone might be returned if it was confiscated, or what to do if anything was lost or broken,' she added. Also not quite making the mark: Pritzker's push to expand so-called evidence-based funding for K-12 schools by $350 million. The final plan would boost funding by $307 million, cutting $43 million that usually would go to a grant program designed to help school districts with high property tax rates and low real estate values. What Pritzker said: 'I'm proposing that we allow community colleges to offer four-year baccalaureate degrees for in-demand career paths — like nursing, advanced manufacturing, early childhood education, and beyond.' And: 'I propose we pass the Public University Direct Admission Program Act introduced by Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford last year. It would allow students to know before they apply whether they qualify for admission to any or all of our state's public universities.' Status: One for two. The Pritzker-led initiative to let community colleges offer four-year degrees didn't make it to the finish line even after the sponsor, Democratic Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl of Northbrook, filed a significant amendment following months of negotiations. The bill was intended to create more paths for students to get affordable, accessible bachelor's degrees in areas that need more workers. However, it initially faced opposition from existing four-year schools that warned it could duplicate degree offerings. Toward the end of the session, Tarver told a Senate committee that the Black caucus had 'significant issues with the bill,' including how it would affect four-year institutions serving a high proportion of Black and minority students, such as Chicago State University. A proposal on direct university admissions, however, passed, meaning high school students and eligible community college students starting in the 2027-2028 school year will automatically be offered admission to public universities if they meet specific GPA standards. What Pritzker said: 'We're going to stop insurance companies from blocking access to mental health. We can do that by banning prior authorization for all behavioral health care. And for rural Illinois families and those who live far away from certain medical care, we'll require insurance reimbursement for reasonable travel costs associated with medical appointments' for some distances. Status: Passed. Building on sweeping health care legislation last year, the General Assembly this session voted on a bill to expand a ban on prior authorization for outpatient behavioral health care, meaning patients will no longer need permission from insurance companies before receiving mental health treatment in many more cases. The same legislation also puts insurers on the hook for travel costs in some instances where closer options aren't adequate. What Pritzker said: 'I'm introducing the Prescription Drug Affordability Act to rein in the unfair practices of PBMs.' Status: Passed. Critics often blame large so-called pharmacy benefit managers, such as CVS Caremark and UnitedHealth Group-owned Optum Rx, for inflating prescription drug costs while pushing independent pharmacies out of business, and Pritzker was largely successful this session in barring these practices, as a bill carrying language to restrict PBM costs passed the legislature with broad bipartisan support. The bill now heading to Pritzker's desk would prohibit PBMs from charging insurance companies more for drugs than they are paid by pharmacies and pocketing the difference; prohibit them from giving better reimbursement rates to pharmacies that the same company owns; and require them to pass along rebates negotiated with drugmakers to health plans and patients. Pritzker indicated Saturday that he would sign the measure, which would also require PBMs to submit annual reports on pricing and other practices to the Illinois Department of Insurance. The measure would charge PBMs an annual $15-per-patient fee, with the first $25 million collected going to a grant fund to support local pharmacies. Supporters of PBMs during the session argued Pritzker's plan was flawed, as they see PBMs as saving patients and employers money partly by negotiating with drugmakers. What Pritzker proposed: As part of the package of policies he announced in February, Pritzker said he'd push several other initiatives, including funding to remediate dilapidated state sites and an easier path for voters to reduce or eliminate local township governments. Status: State site funding passed; township idea stalled. Pritzker received his requested $500 million in state capital funds for two key programs on state sites, including $300 million to remake five or more largely abandoned properties, which would help develop properties 'sitting idle' in areas that are 'ripe' for economic growth, according to his budget proposals. The state's previous investments in site readiness have generated over $1.5 billion in private investment and the now-passed initiatives could attract more than $4.7 billion in investment, the governor's office said in February. Yet an effort to consolidate smaller townships across the state did not gain much traction as neither bill in the House nor the Senate made it out of committee. Pritzker's office said in February that many of the more than 1,400 townships operating across the state — which levy over $750 million in property taxes — provide services that are duplicative or could be managed more efficiently by municipalities or counties. Townships often provide maintenance and services for rural areas, such as road maintenance and transportation for seniors. Still, several Illinois townships have been tangled with corruption, such as the recent federal investigation of Dolton Mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard over improper spending of taxpayer dollars. The idea of consolidating townships has faltered for a century, partly due to opposition from politicians seeking to preserve their power, as well as concerns that downstate rural areas could lose their civic identity. ____
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tesla shares slide as Musk steps up criticism of ally Trump
By Akash Sriram and Kanchana Chakravarty (Reuters) -Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and self-proclaimed "First Buddy" of President Donald Trump, has stepped up criticism of the president's massive tax legislation in recent days. Investors are starting to notice. Tesla shares dropped more than 5% on Thursday on a day otherwise devoid of news for the electric vehicle maker, leading traders to speculate that Musk's increasingly pointed rhetoric suggests strain in the relationship that has benefited his sprawling empire of businesses. Musk is upset because the bill takes the EV mandate away, President Trump said on Thursday, adding, "Don't know if we'll have a great relationship anymore." The world's richest man, a key figure in the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) cost-cutting initiative for several months, has blasted the bill, not long after he said he would spend less time in the White House and more time with his companies. On his social media platform X, Musk has called on Congress members to kill the legislation, calling it a "disgusting abomination." "It more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the DOGE team at great personal cost and risk," Musk, the largest Republican donor in the 2024 election cycle, said on X on Tuesday. Musk's leadership of DOGE and his alignment with the Trump administration have put off some Tesla buyers. Sales of his EVs have slumped in Europe, China and key U.S. markets like California, even as overall electric vehicle purchases continue to grow. Musk has slowly started to separate himself from the White House in recent weeks, stung in part by the wave of protests against Tesla. "Elon's politics continue to harm the stock. First he aligned himself with Trump which upset many potential Democratic buyers. Now he has turned on the Trump administration," said Tesla shareholder Dennis Dick, chief strategist at Stock Trader Network. Musk's other businesses, SpaceX and Starlink, dominate their respective markets, but have also come under scrutiny due to Musk's relationship with Trump. Those two businesses often serve as the default choice for commercial launches and satellite internet deployment, and foreign governments have also increasingly looked to Starlink, with regulatory approvals smoothed by Musk's ties. Tesla shares are down 12% since May 27, roughly coinciding with his decision to pull back from Washington activities. The stock has been on a roller-coaster ever since his endorsement of Trump in mid-July 2024 in his re-election bid, gaining 169% from that point through mid-December. That was followed by a 54% selloff through early April as a "Tesla Takedown" protest movement intensified. The House of Representatives version of the budget bill proposes largely ending the popular $7,500 electric vehicle subsidy by the end of 2025. Tesla and other automakers have relied on incentives for years to drum up demand, but Trump promised during the transition to end the subsidy. Tesla could face a $1.2 billion hit to its full-year profit, along with an additional $2 billion setback to regulatory credit sales due to separate Senate legislation targeting California's EV sales mandates, according to J.P. Morgan analysts. "The budget bill contains bad stuff for Tesla with the end of the EV credits, and just generally his falling out with Trump has risks for Tesla and Elon's other companies," said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. Musk's public attacks have upset potential Republican Tesla buyers as well, Dennis Dick added. One White House official on Wednesday called the Tesla CEO's moves "infuriating." The billionaire joined Senate Republican deficit hawks this week in arguing that the House bill does not go far enough in reducing spending. Overall, Tesla shares are down 22% this year, including Thursday's losses. But the company is still the most valuable automaker worldwide by a long shot - carrying a market value of $1 trillion, far surpassing Toyota Motor's market value of about $290 billion. Tesla trades at 140.21 times profit estimates, a steep premium to other Big Tech stocks like Nvidia. Sign in to access your portfolio
