GOP strategist Ana Navarro has come under heavy criticism for attributing to Democratic Congressional candidate and Somali-American Ilhan Omar the name of American President Donald Trump’s first daughter, “often labeled as a hardliner and misogynist.” In the interview, she doubled down on those comments, telling the audience that Omar once falsely claimed that there was only one Muslim flag in America, comparing it to the white flag that the Nazis raised. The conversation quickly spiraled into a heated debate, with Navarro referring to Omar as a “terrorist sympathizer.”
At the Women for Women International’s gala in Washington, D.C., where a bipartisan group of the country’s leading female elected officials spoke to an audience of activists, the former Trump advisor apologized for her comments. “I am deeply sorry to the Muslim community,” she said. “I want to apologize on behalf of myself and the Republican Party for the hurt I have caused with these comments.”
“I have reached out to her,” Navarro added, to Omar. “I have a number of phone calls to schedule.”
The former Trump aide’s now-deleted tweets have also been ridiculed by many members of the Republican Party.
Embarrassing to see Ana Navarro tweet about @IlhanMN being a terrorist sympathizer. @HouseIntel commish will not find enough evidence. Seems there was in her world. #PoliticalDisservice https://t.co/EfEO8itL2J — Susan Glasser (@sbg1) September 27, 2018
Ana Navarro’s Omar apology? That is PR, YOU BLAME TRUMP FOR THE VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM! https://t.co/I22SOJa2MI — Barbara Starr (@Barbara_Starr) September 27, 2018
Female GOP operative attacks Muslim candidate for being an anti-Semite
“Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, one of the few Muslim congresswomen,” Ana Navarro tweeted. “If she says one word against Trump, she is a terrorist sympathizer.”
In an interview with “CBS This Morning,” Navarro explained that she has become “a racist on the job.”
Asked what she said in response to Omar’s comments that there was only one flag in America, she replied, “That’s a lie, what’s the reason behind that? Are you looking to make a point that I am an anti-Semite? Do you want a hate group to bring the charge that I am anti-Semite that I am in league with them?”
When asked what she thought of Trump supporters, she said, “Do they hate the same people that I hate? Do you know who you’re voting for? Do you know what you’re voting for? Do you know who you’re backing? Do you know what you’re looking for? Do you know who’s voting for you? Do you know how much it’s going to cost you to protect them? … I now hate Donald Trump, and I don’t even like his daughter Ivanka.”
The issues are just too fraught. The exact issue of Trump/Abe to Muslims are being done here in America. I have reached out to her for an apology. https://t.co/0Ls5KxDMME — Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) September 27, 2018
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, took a more measured response to Navarro’s remarks, telling KQED that although she disagreed with her, “it’s not the violence, it’s the language.”
When asked if Omar should apologize, Klobuchar told the radio station, “Yes. I don’t think it’s violence. I think she has something else to say that has to do with the issue of demonizing Muslim Americans. That’s something that this president has done a great job of and it’s something she’s a good voice for.”
Read the full story at NBC News.
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