Trump’s Dismissal Of Ilhan Omar Attack Is Being Called Dangerous — Even By Republicans

Republican President Donald Trump faced stiff blowback on Wednesday — even from within his own party ― after his blithe dismissal of an attack on a Minnesota lawmaker he frequently slams on the stump.

“She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” Trump told ABC News when he was asked about U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., being sprayed with an unknown substance during a town hall appearance in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.

“No, I don’t think about her,” Trump said when a reporter asked him if he’d seen the widely circulated video footage of the incident. “I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that.”

Omar, whose Somali descent and progressive politics has made her a frequent target of Trump’s ire, was unharmed in the incident. Police arrested the man who apparently carried out the attack, The Associated Press reported.

The audience cheered as the man was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In the video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her,” The Associated Press reported.

Omar took to social media after the attack, issuing a defiant post.

“I’m ok. I’m a survivor. So this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win. Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong,” she said.

Just before that Omar had called for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or face impeachment, the wire service reported.

Calls are mounting on Capitol Hill for Noem to step down after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people who protested deportations. Few Republicans have risen to her defense.

Earlier this week, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, issued a similar call for Noem’s removal, arguing that Trump’s hardball tactics during his mass deportation campaign had not made the nation safer.

“This just isn’t right, you know, this is so wrong what’s happened. It was so unnecessary,” Healey said of last week’s shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti at the hands of federal immigration agents. “There was no need for all of that to go down in the way that it did. It is just an example of how out of control ICE is. It’s why I call on Kristi Noem to resign. It’s why I call on ICE to get out of these cities in these states. Donald Trump needs to rein this in and take this back.”

Trump’s response to the incident differed sharply from his fellow Republicans, who appealed for calm in the wake of the attack.

“What happened at Rep. Ilhan Omar’s town hall — where she was sprayed with a substance during the event — is completely unacceptable. Regardless of political views, we should all agree this behavior crosses a line and cannot be tolerated,” U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has publicly acknowledged her differences with Omar, made a similar comment with a post to X. “I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today. Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric – and I do – no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are,” Mace said.

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., interrupted an interview to comment on the incident. “He’s putting lives at risk … Donald Trump’s constant vilification of Ilhan is dangerous … He must stop,” Raskin said. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a close colleague of Omar, was also sharply critical.

“It is not a coincidence that after days of President Trump and VP Vance putting Rep. Omar in their crosshairs with slanderous public attacks, she gets assaulted at her town hall. Thank God she is okay. If they want leaders to take down the temp, they need to look in the mirror,” she said.

The attack on Omar also comes as U.S. Capitol Police have logged a sharp increase in threats against members of Congress.

Those threats, described as “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex,” skyrocketed by 57% between 2024 and 2025, rising from 9,474 to 14,938 in 2025, according to the political news site Punchbowl News.

John L. Micek; masslive.com; (TNS) | ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.