Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) accused Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) of invoking a “racist and tired” trope in his criticism of Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) and demanded he be condemned for his words.
Omar reacted to Nehls’s comments on the heels of Bush confirming that she is under investigation by the Department of Justice for alleged misuse of federal security money. Nehls told CNN that she pays “her thug,” an apparent reference to her husband, who she has paid for security, while bashing police.
“She doesn’t even support the police. But the idea to pay her thug money to try to help protect her this and that, for what?” Nehls told the outlet. “Maybe if she wouldn’t be so loud all the time, maybe she wouldn’t be getting threats.”
When asked if he thinks she deserves to receive threats, he reiterated to the outlet that she is “radical” and that “maybe she should tone it down a little bit.”
Omar, a member of “the Squad” alongside Bush, defended the Missouri Democrat and called for Nehls to apologize. She accused him of invoking the antiquated trope of the “loud black woman” in his comments about Bush.
The loud black woman trope is racist and tired. The Congressman should apologize and all members of Congress should condemn him. No one in our government deserves to be threatened regardless how loud they advocate for their positions and blaming the victim of harassment and… https://t.co/B60X1dd910
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 31, 2024
“The loud black woman trope is racist and tired. The Congressman should apologize and all members of Congress should condemn him. No one in our government deserves to be threatened regardless how loud they advocate for their positions and blaming the victim of harassment and threats can’t be condoned,” she said in a post on X.
Bush also called on Nehls to apologize for his comments, saying that his rhetoric “endangers Black lives.”
.@RepTroyNehls just called my husband, a Black man and army veteran, a thug. And I’m the loud Black woman who needs to be silent in order to be safe from violence, or else?
This is the kind of rhetoric that endangers Black lives. He must apologize. https://t.co/QeqZ7yYfRX
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 31, 2024
“[Troy Nehls] just called my husband, a Black man and army veteran, a thug. And I’m the loud Black woman who needs to be silent in order to be safe from violence, or else? This is the kind of rhetoric that endangers Black lives. He must apologize,” she posted on X.
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Nehls responded to Bush’s post, jabbing that she should apologize to police officers. Bush, a former Black Lives Matter activist, has regularly called for police to be defunded.
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) January 31, 2024
“You should apologize to every law enforcement officer across the nation. I’m waiting,” he posted on X.