Resurfaced video sparks outrage as Omar vows U.S. obedience to Somali demands, igniting national backlash.
A political firestorm erupted Wednesday after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk accused Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of treason, following the resurfacing of footage in which she appeared to pledge allegiance not to the United States—but to Somalia. The video, filmed in 2024 and reposted by Musk on X, shows Omar promising Somali constituents that the U.S. government would “do what we ask it to do.”
Omar’s speech centered on blocking Somaliland from allowing Ethiopia to establish a naval base on its coast, a dispute involving two African nations—but she framed her mission as an obligation to Somalis worldwide, not Americans. “We should have confidence as Somalis. This country is one where one of your daughters sits in Congress,” she said, adding, “While I am in Congress, no one will take Somalia’s sea.”
Her remarks—asserting direct leverage over U.S. foreign policy in service of Somalia—went viral within hours of Musk’s retweet. “This sounds like treason,” Musk wrote, a response that transformed a niche clip into a national controversy.
The resurfaced video emerged just a day after President Donald Trump blasted Omar at a rally, accusing her of caring more about Somalia than the United States. The crowd responded with chants of “Send her back!” echoing frustrations that Omar frequently champions foreign causes—especially anti-Israel agendas—over American interests.
Omar fired back on social media, accusing Trump of being “obsessed” with her, though she did not address the substance of the allegations.
Omar has long been a polarizing figure in Congress, especially for her hostility toward Israel. Since 2019 she has pushed narratives aligned with anti-Israel activists, from accusing AIPAC of buying Republican loyalty, to comparing Israel and the United States to Hamas and the Taliban, to circulating disinformation about Israeli airstrikes based on Syrian war footage.
She also infamously amplified false claims about an explosion at a Gaza hospital—later proven to be caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket—before quietly backtracking.
Her confrontations extend beyond online rhetoric. In 2023 she hurled an expletive at pro-Israel activists on Capitol Hill who challenged her inability to condemn Hamas, highlighting a pattern of avoiding criticism of Palestinian terror groups while regularly attacking Israel.
The newly resurfaced footage adds to growing concerns that Omar’s loyalties lie not with American allies—like Israel—but with Somalia’s political interests and anti-Western narratives, raising fresh questions about her conduct in Congress.
