Trump accused both lawmakers of showing hostility toward conservatives and the United States itself, calling Crockett âlow-IQâ and suggesting Omar should be âtaken backâ by Somalia.
Crockett drew conservative outrage earlier this week after she voted against a House resolution condemning political violence and honoring Kirk, who was killed earlier this month while speaking in Utah.
She argued that Kirkâs rhetoric targeted minority communities and likened Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids to slave patrols. Crockett also claimed Kirk had spread âignorant, uneducatedâ beliefs that âsought to disenfranchise millions of Americans.â
Trump dismissed those remarks as baseless.
âJasmine, remember what I said? ⌠Sheâs a very low-IQ person. If we ever had to pass an aptitude test, thatâs the one who should take one because she shouldnât even be in [Congress],â Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. âBetween her and Ilman [Omar] and the group ⌠I suggested [to Somaliaâs president] maybe heâd like to take her back, and he said, âI donât want her.ââ
Pressed about Crockettâs comparison of ICE to slave patrols, Trump said she had âgone over the line,â before broadening his criticism to Democrats generally.
âThe Democrats have become radical left lunatics,â Trump said, adding that their policies were ânot believableâ and predicting that New York City could soon elect what he called a âcommunist mayor.â
The president argued that such developments, while âsad for New York,â could ultimately be a âgift to the Republican Party,â saying that a left-wing takeover might shock voters into reconsidering their support.
Omar has also come under fire for her response to Kirkâs death. She reposted a video accusing him of âspewing racist dog whistlesâ and said she was âmortifiedâ by the killing while criticizing Kirkâs stances on race relations and gun rights. Her comments sparked calls from Republicans for her censure and even for her citizenship to be revoked. Trump has long accused Omar of disloyalty to the United States, often invoking disputed claims about her immigration history and personal life.
Omar, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia in 1995 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000, has rejected such attacks as racist and xenophobic. Conservative critics, however, continue to question the timeline of her naturalization and past marriages.
Trump has a long history of singling out Omar, a prominent member of the progressive âSquad.â He has repeatedly accused her of disloyalty and of prioritizing Somali interests over those of the United States, charges she has dismissed as bigoted and false. In turn, Omar has accused Trump of inciting violence against her and others.
The feud with Crockett is newer but highlights the same fault lines. Crockett, a freshman Democrat, has positioned herself as an outspoken critic of Trump and his allies. Her rejection of the resolution honoring Kirk cemented her reputation as a left-wing extremist.
The presidentâs Oval Office remarks come amid a climate of heightened political tension following Kirkâs assassination. Supporters of the conservative commentator have portrayed his death as evidence of a dangerous climate of hostility toward right-wing voices. Democrats, meanwhile, have warned against politicizing the tragedy or using it to stoke further division.
For Trump, the confrontation with Crockett and Omar provided another opportunity to sharpen contrasts with progressive Democrats while rallying his base ahead of key political battles. Whether the rhetoric translates into real action â such as renewed efforts to censure Omar or investigations into her citizenship, as some Republicans demand â remains to be seen.