Omar Describes Town Hall Attack, Rebukes Trump Comments (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: It was at a separate town hall in Minnesota last night where this moment happened to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. She was speaking when a man charged her at the lectern, and forensic examiners have now determined with high probability, they say, that what was in that syringe that the man was holding was apple cider vinegar. The 55-year-old man has been charged with assault in the third degree. And I should note Capitol Police are also looking into pursuing potential federal charges against him tonight, which could include assaulting a member of Congress and impeding her from doing her official duties. The president, who last night in the hours before this attack had been criticizing the congresswoman, was asked about it in an interview with ABC News, where he told them that he doesn't think about her and called her a fraud, as he said, quote, she probably had herself sprayed knowing her. And Congresswoman Ilhan Omar joins me now. And I want to get to what the president said in a moment. But just first off, watching this last night, when this man charged you, you initially went after him and raised your fist in that moment. That was your first reaction. What would have happened, do you think, if you had gotten to him before your security tackled him?

[00:01:13] Speaker 2: Well, I'm fortunate I didn't get to him, because I'd probably be catching charges as well.

[00:01:21] Speaker 1: I mean, just that moment, that instinct. And I should note, we are so grateful that you're okay. Obviously, we checked in with you and your team last night. I know you were dealing with the aftermath of this. You continued your town hall. They wanted you to go get checked out. You said no, you wanted to finish speaking first. Why was that important for you?

[00:01:41] Speaker 2: Well, you know, I realized a long time ago that whether it is the president's dangerous rhetoric, whether it is the death threats that I get, whether it is the right-wing vitriol, or this man attacking me last night, their ultimate goal is to stop me from being a public servant, from serving my constituents with the dignity and the honor that they deserve. And last night, I was carrying out a promise I made to my constituents that I would hold a town hall every single month and be able to give them feedback on what I've been doing in Washington, D.C., and be able to answer their questions. And so it was really important for me in that moment to not allow this person intimidate me into running out of that room and canceling that town hall. My constituents deserve to have their congresswoman continue to do the work that they elected her to do. And that is my promise, and I will continue to do that.

[00:02:45] Speaker 1: I mean, and you are someone, you and I have spoken about this before, you have faced a lot of threats. I mean, what was going through your mind in that moment? It must have been scary as well.

[00:02:57] Speaker 2: Well, I thought, I initially thought that the person spit on me. I saw, you know, some liquids that landed on the podium and on some of the papers that I was reading my report from. And so, you know, it was a human reaction to want to do something to someone that is trying to degrade you in that kind of way, because I've never been able to back down to cowards who act in ways that are disgusting in society.

[00:03:36] Speaker 1: And it was disgusting and cowardly, obviously. And he is now facing charges, potentially federal charges from Capitol Police.

[00:03:44] Speaker 2: And they're supposed to take, they're supposed to take him into federal custody tomorrow. So charges should be coming at some point tomorrow is my understanding.

[00:03:53] Speaker 1: Was he known to your team before this? Had he been on any kind of radar of y'all's or anything?

[00:03:59] Speaker 2: No, I don't, I don't think any of us have had a personal interaction with him. He wasn't flagged in the system when, you know, we'd asked our team to look to see. I don't think it is not my belief, although we continue to dig into it, that he's attended a previous town hall of mine either.

[00:04:21] Speaker 1: Okay. And as obviously we've seen his past political post and what he himself has said. I mentioned the president's response where he told ABC News after, just a few hours after this happened, she probably had herself sprayed knowing her. Before you respond, I do want to remind everyone that when President Trump was nearly assassinated, you responded and said, we condemn acts of violence and pray for the victims, may calmness, calmness and decency prevail. And you said it was sad to hear the tragedy that had occurred. What went through your mind when you heard the president's response last night?

[00:04:57] Speaker 2: Well, the difference between the president and I is that I was raised to be a decent human being and my faith teaches me to have compassion. And he lacks both of those things. This is a president who presides over an administration that when they assassinated, Renee Goode told us that she was a domestic terrorist that was trying to kill the federal agents. When they assassinated Alex Pretty, they told us that he was a domestic terrorist who burnished a weapon. None of those things are true. They are known to be liars. They have constantly told us not to believe in our eyes. Fortunately, both of those assassinations were caught on camera. And so was what happened to me last night, caught on camera.

[00:05:54] Speaker 1: So when he claims it's staged, you say?

[00:06:01] Speaker 2: Well, I mean, this is also somebody who was talking about me in his town hall in Iowa and then seems to exhibit some sort of dementia when he says he doesn't think about me. Maybe it is time for us to, for the 25th amendment to be invoked because he certainly cannot remember what he said and has done an hour ago.

[00:06:23] Speaker 1: He was just posting about you truly five minutes ago before we came on air. I was looking at truth social and he had posted about you. And it reminded me of what he said when he announced that he was sending Tom Homan into Minneapolis. In that same post, he said the Justice Department and Congress are looking at Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who left Somalia with nothing and is now reportedly worth more than $44 million. Time will tell all. Were you aware there is a DOJ investigation here? The New York Times says it started in part under the Biden Justice Department into your financial disclosure forms or into your finances and campaign spending. But were you aware that this Justice Department is looking into you?

[00:07:07] Speaker 2: No, but I'm not surprised. Over the years, there have been investigations with the FEC because people have filed complaints. So I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened in this case. And clearly that investigation hasn't moved on because they don't have evidence of wrongdoing. And so I know that there has always been an attempt to smear my character, to smear the character of the community that I ethnically belong to. There's always this sort of sad reference to the fact that I'm a refugee. It seems like these people seem to have a problem with the fact that I am living the American dream. Yes, I was once a refugee. Yes, I did survive war. Yes, I did come to the United States when I was 12 years old, not speaking English. But I did make it to the United States of Congress, representing our country, helping write the laws of this country and helping appropriate the resources that are utilized by all Americans. So yes, that is the American dream. They do not believe that the American dream is possible. And I think the fact that I'm a visible representation of that American dream pisses them off.

[00:08:25] Speaker 1: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, thank you for joining us tonight. And we are so glad that you're safe after what happened last night. So really appreciate your time tonight.

[00:08:32] Speaker 2: Thank you.

[00:08:33] Speaker 1: Appreciate it.