Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has moved on from promoting rumors about Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to promoting propaganda for hostile foreign governments.
In other words, she’s off to a great start after less than a month in Congress!
The freshman congresswoman took exception this week to President Trump’s endorsement of Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela, even as the corrupt strongman Nicholas Maduro maintains that he is still in control. The U.S. president is joined by Canada and seven Latin American states in supporting Guaido over Maduro.
“A US backed coup in Venezuela is not a solution to the dire issues they face,” Omar tweeted on Jan. 24. “Trump’s efforts to install a far right opposition will only incite violence and further destabilize the region. We must support Mexico, Uruguay & the Vatican’s efforts to facilitate a peaceful dialogue.”
For the record, Guaido is not “far right.” He is the leader of a legitimate party opposed to the corrupt, tyrannical Maduro regime and the elected president of Venezuela’s legislature. To describe him and his political backing as “far right” is to reveal a deep and willful ignorance.
About an hour after accusing the U.S. president of staging a coup in Venezuela, Omar then shared a Jan. 11 note from TeleSur Network host and 9/11 truther Abby Martin, who wrote, “Is Trump really an anti-interventionist? From ‘bombing the hell’ out of civilians, to ramping-up brutal sanctions, to becoming Arms Salesman-In-Chief — our new [Empire Files] series shows how he’s been a gift to the war machine.”
Martin’s tweet links to a YouTube video titled, “Trump is Expanding the U.S. Empire.”
TeleSur is a state-run Venezuela-based network. Martin used to host a show on Russia Today or RT, which is also state-run, funded directly by President Vladimir Putin’s government. In other words, Omar not only circulated state-produced propaganda in service of a hostile foreign power, but she did so by promoting a media figure who previously distributed propaganda in service of another hostile foreign power. Good work all around, congresswoman.
And if you can believe it, Omar didn’t leave it at that.
“We cannot hand pick leaders for other countries on behalf of multinational corporate interests. The legislature cannot seize power from the President, and Venezuela’s Supreme Court has declared their actions unconstitutional,” the congresswoman tweeted one day later, still referring to the U.S. backing the head of the opposition-controlled Venezuelan congress.
She added: “We can’t afford to get involved in costly interventions abroad when tens of millions struggle to access housing, healthcare, and clean water right here at home. U.S. meddling abroad always ends badly for us, and the people we claim to be ‘liberating.’”
That’s to say nothing of the Venezuelans who struggle to access housing, healthcare, and clean water right now thanks to Maduro.
“If we really want to support the Venezuelan people, we can lift the economic sanctions that are inflicting suffering on innocent families, making it harder for them to access food and medicines, and deepening the economic crisis. We should support dialogue, not a coup!” Omar added. She was referring to sanctions narrowly targeted at specific people in Maduro’s regime.
It’s also funny to hear a staunch supporter of the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement disparage the idea of imposing sanctions on a truly destructive and despotic government. The word “sanctions” is literally in the title of BDS, after all.
Then again, judging by her Twitter habits, making sense is not exactly Omar’s strong suit.
