By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., addressed longstanding allegations about her former marriage during a Wednesday appearance on MS NOW’s All In, denying that her ex-husband was her brother while saying she had no knowledge of any familial relationship between them.
During the interview with host Chris Hayes, Omar discussed claims that President Donald Trump and other political critics have repeatedly raised about her marital history. She described the allegations as unfounded and traced their origins to an online blog associated with the Somali community.
Hayes introduced the subject by discussing Trump’s public references to Omar and accusations that she had married a sibling.
“The president of the United States is, you know, one of the biggest bullhorns, right? And every time he talks about you, he will casually say something wild about you. Like, he will tweet Ilhan Omar, she married her brother, blah, blah, blah,” Hayes said.
He noted that Omar had previously characterized the allegation as a “disgusting lie” before asking how the claims originated.
“It started with the Somali blog. I don’t know if it still exists, but somebody put in there that, you know that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect,” Omar said.
She continued by accusing conservative activists in Minneapolis of amplifying the allegation and presenting accounts from people claiming she had introduced her former husband as her brother.
“And, right wing conspiracy theorists in Minneapolis got a hold of it, and they just kind of went and found random people who were like, she introduced us. You know, she introduced him to us and said he was her brother. Which is, you know, insane. I mean, I don’t know those people that they talk about.”
Hayes then asked whether there could be any factual basis for claims that the two were related.
“You were not related to him at all? There’s not something weird kernel of truth?” Hayes asked.
“Not to my knowledge,” Omar responded.
The exchange drew attention because Omar denied the central allegation while qualifying her answer when asked whether she and her former husband might have any family relationship.
Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, married the congresswoman in 2009. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2017.
The allegation that Elmi was her brother has circulated for years in political commentary and online discussions. Omar has repeatedly denied the claim, and publicly available evidence has not established that the two are siblings.
Previous reporting has examined questions surrounding Omar’s marital history and tax filings, but those matters have not established the accusation that she married a relative.
Trump has continued to reference the allegation while criticizing Omar, a prominent member of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and a frequent opponent of his administration’s immigration policies.
During Wednesday’s interview, Omar maintained that the controversy began with speculation on a Somali-language blog and was subsequently amplified by political opponents.
The interview segment from MS NOW’s All In captures the exchange between Hayes and Omar, including her explanation of the allegation’s origins and her response about a possible family relationship.
The congresswoman did not identify any evidence supporting the claim that her former husband was a sibling or another relative.
Her latest comments return attention to an allegation that has followed her political career, with Omar continuing to reject the accusation and describing its circulation as the product of politically motivated speculation.
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