Ilhan Omar never disappoints when it comes to making statements so wildly unmoored from reality that even the most patient fact-checker needs an ice bath afterward. Her latest masterpiece? Standing in front of cameras and telling America—straight-faced—that Somalis are part of the “fabric of this nation,” as if George Washington spent Valley Forge sharing sambusas with the Continental Army and Betsy Ross stitched the original stars and stripes with help from a Minneapolis sewing circle. It’s a statement so absurd, so historically backward, that you almost want to applaud the level of confidence required to say it aloud without bursting into laughter. But behind the comedy is something far more serious: a sitting member of Congress trying to rewrite American history in real time to shield her own political tribe from scrutiny.
Let’s be honest because Ilhan Omar won’t be: Somali immigration did not begin in 1776, or 1876, or even 1976. It began in the 1990s through refugee programs, built communities in very specific pockets like Minneapolis, and today represents well under half of one percent of the U.S. population. That’s fine—immigrant groups start small. But let’s not pretend they built the Transcontinental Railroad, fought in the Civil War, carved out steel mills, or shaped centuries of American culture. Omar’s claim isn’t just historically wrong; it’s deliberately misleading. And you can tell it’s deliberate because of the timing. Her grand speech about Somalis “always being part of the fabric of this nation” arrived neatly packaged right as the massive Minnesota Somali corruption scandal was back in the headlines—the largest COVID-era food-aid fraud scheme in American history. Hundreds of millions of dollars meant for children were siphoned off into luxury cars, overseas properties, and bogus meal sites that reportedly “fed” more ghost kids than the combined cast of Stranger Things. And where did this happen? In Omar’s political backyard. In the very community she claims is being unfairly maligned.
This is where the story gets less funny and more infuriating. Because a normal, responsible representative confronted with a fraud scandal of this size—especially one affecting her own district—would respond with something like: “This is disgraceful. We need full transparency and accountability.” But Omar? She went with the classic deflection package: downplay the scandal, frame criticism as xenophobia, and wrap herself in the moral superiority blanket she keeps on standby for moments like this. Instead of condemning the fraud, she scolded anyone who dared mention it, implying that talking about documented corruption is somehow an attack on all Somalis everywhere. This is political gaslighting at its finest, where the crime itself matters less than maintaining the group narrative. It’s identity politics turned into a shield—a very convenient one if your main goal is making sure nobody investigates too deeply.
And this is the part the media loves to play along with. MSNBC spent the week floating excuses, lecturing Americans about how people in uniform might look “scary,” and reminding everyone how dangerous ICE supposedly is—because what better way to distract from a $250 million fraud investigation than by blaming the guys trying to enforce the law? Meanwhile, anyone questioning Omar’s comments is treated as if they personally wrote a nativist manifesto in crayon. The message is simple: if you demand accountability, you’re a bigot. If you point out the corruption, you’re dangerous. If you ask why federal money for hungry children ended up buying BMWs and Dubai real estate, you’re part of a hate campaign. It’s the same twisted logic that tries to make the whistleblower the villain and the perpetrator the victim.
And that brings us right back to Omar’s “fabric of this nation” line. It wasn’t a sentimental statement about heritage. It was crisis PR—weaponized identity politics wrapped in Hallmark language. The goal wasn’t to elevate Somalis but to insulate them from accountability long enough for the news cycle to move on. It’s a clever trick: rewrite history so you can rewrite the present. If Somalis “have always been part of America,” then any criticism of corruption becomes an attack on America itself. It’s dishonest. It’s manipulative. And it’s exactly the kind of rhetorical stunt Omar has perfected during her time in Congress.
Let’s say what she won’t: America is a nation built on immigration—but it’s also a nation built on law and accountability. You don’t get to claim the privileges of one while ignoring the responsibilities of the other. And you certainly don’t get to rewrite the country’s entire historical timeline to cover for the worst fraud scheme in your state’s history. The only thing “fabric-like” here is the political patchwork Omar is trying to stitch together to keep the scandal from sticking to her. But the threads are fraying, and the voters are starting to notice.
If Ilhan Omar wants to celebrate Somali culture, great. Nobody’s stopping her. But pretending this community has been here “as part of the fabric of America” since the dawn of time just to dodge a corruption scandal isn’t advocacy—it’s propaganda. And Americans can see the difference. When you stand in front of cameras and tell a story this historically ridiculous, you’re not honoring your constituents—you’re insulting everyone’s intelligence. And if your first instinct when your district gets caught in a massive fraud scheme is to change the subject, blame the critics, and rewrite history, you’re not defending your community—you’re defending yourself.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
JIMMY
Find more articles like this at steadfastandloyal.com.
h/t: Steadfast and Loyal
Leave a Comment