Has Rep. Ilhan Omar publicly addressed Barron’s comment, and what was her response?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows Rep. Ilhan Omar has publicly responded to repeated comments urging her to “go back” to Somalia, including most recently President Trump’s calls; she rejected the suggestion and said she will remain in the U.S. and criticized the attacks on her background and credibility [1] [2]. Local Minnesota coverage likewise records Omar pushing back on administration moves targeting Somali protections and saying opponents misunderstand the law governing Temporary Protected Status [3].
1. A familiar skirmish — Omar responds to “go back” rhetoric
Rep. Ilhan Omar has publicly addressed remarks telling her to “leave the country” or “go back” on multiple occasions, answering the most recent such attack by saying she is “not going anywhere” and noting she is an adult with children who can choose where to live; that reply came as President Trump renewed the line in social posts and remarks [1] [2]. Politico reported Omar framed the comments as an ongoing personal and political assault rooted in her Somali heritage and past as an 8‑year‑old refugee, and she voiced exasperation at being repeatedly reduced to that origin story [1].
2. Direct rebuttal to the president’s claim that Somalia would “take her back”
When Trump suggested Somali leaders would accept her return, Omar publicly called that claim fabricated and attacked the president’s credibility, according to reporting that quotes her pushing back on the administration’s narrative [4] [1]. Fox News covered a related exchange in which White House social posts and presidential remarks were interpreted as taunting; Omar’s response in that context was to dispute the premise and to insist the deportation threats were hollow and politically motivated [4].
3. Legal and policy pushback — she frames this as more than personal insult
Omar has moved beyond personal rebuttal to challenge the substance of administration actions, notably criticizing President Trump’s stated plan to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota and arguing the president misunderstands the law and the role of the Department of Homeland Security in that process [3]. Local Minnesota reporting records her joining state officials in framing the move as an attack on Somali communities with legal protections, not simply a political taunt [3].
4. Congressional fallout and partisan responses
Coverage indicates the rhetorical attacks have coincided with formal Republican maneuvers, including a censure motion in the House that gained attention even as some efforts failed or were narrowly decided; outlets say Omar answered those pressures by reiterating she would stay in Congress and contest the charges against her [2]. Opponents have used her background and past remarks as political leverage; supporters portray the assaults as part of a broader strategy to marginalize a progressive Somali‑American lawmaker [2].
5. Misinformation and the broader media environment
Fact‑checking outlets and reporting caution that some viral claims tied to Omar — for instance, invented family names or fabricated financial allegations — are satirical or false; a NewsBreak fact check traced a bogus story about an invented relative receiving millions in government grants to satire rather than to documentary evidence [5]. That pattern matters because it shows how hostile narratives mix both direct presidential attacks and less‑reliable social posts to shape public perception [5].
6. What the sources do and do not say
The available sources document Omar’s public pushback to comments urging her to leave the U.S., her denial of the president’s account about Somalia’s willingness to “take her back,” and her legal‑policy rebuttals on TPS [1] [4] [3]. The sources do not provide a full transcript of every statement she has made, nor do they detail private communications or strategy; they likewise do not report any public apology from Omar regarding those exchanges [1] [2] [3]. Claims about invented relatives and grant payments are flagged as satire or false in fact‑checks [5].
Limitations: reporting varies by outlet and partisan framing; Politico, Fox News, local Minnesota coverage and fact‑checkers emphasize different aspects of Omar’s responses and the surrounding context [1] [4] [3] [5]. Readers should note the mix of direct quotes, summary characterization, and separate fact checks across the cited pieces.