Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has issued a stark warning that former President Donald Trump's repeated personal attacks and dehumanising language are creating a perilous climate of political violence in the United States.
A Pattern of Incendiary Rhetoric
Speaking from her Washington DC office on 12 December 2025, Omar told The Guardian that Trump's rhetoric reaches "the worst humans possible" and incites them to action. Her comments came days after Trump, at a rally in Pennsylvania, pushed a baseless conspiracy and led supporters in chants of "Send her back!" targeting the Somali-born Democrat.
Omar, who came to the US as a refugee aged 12 and gained citizenship at 17, described Trump's fixation as "vile" and an "unhealthy and creepy obsession." She accused him of reverting to bigotry to deflect from policy failures, stating, "When things aren't going well for him … cue the bigotry."
Direct Threats and Real-World Consequences
The Minnesota representative revealed the tangible dangers she and her community face. "We've had people incarcerated for threatening to kill me," she said, noting ongoing prosecutions. She expressed a profound fear that someone seeking to harm her might instead attack another Somali American, mistaking them for her.
Her husband, Tim Mynett, highlighted that the threats are not new. During Trump's first term, a credible plot led to the couple requiring a six-person federal security detail. "This isn't our first rodeo," Mynett said, expressing dismay that this is where the country's leader focuses national attention.
The data underscores a worrying trend. In 2024, the US Capitol Police investigated 9,474 concerning statements and direct threats against members of Congress, more than double the 2017 total. This rise coincides with deadly attacks, including the killing of Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband earlier this year.
Scapegoating a Community and Undermining Democracy
Omar pointed to a direct correlation between Trump's tenure and political violence, noting that death threats against her "went to almost zero" during Joe Biden's presidency before rising again. In 2019, after Trump attacked her and "the Squad," she received more death threats than any other congress member.
Trump has also escalated attacks on Somali Americans broadly, recently labelling them "garbage." Omar accused him of scapegoating an entire community over isolated issues, noting most Somalis in Minnesota are US citizens. The rhetoric has real-life impacts: Omar disclosed that federal immigration agents once pulled over her son, only releasing him after he produced his passport, which he now "always carries."
Despite the intimidation, Omar vowed to continue her congressional work on healthcare, climate, and democratic institutions. However, she warned of fragility in US democracy, stating Trump's presidency "exposed some weaknesses" and showed institutions are "fragile to a dictatorship-like ruler." She called for stronger guardrails to protect institutional independence.
