VOA Congressional Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, hit back at Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, after he claimed she hated the U.S. in a segment the night before. She called the three-minute video an example of "white racist supremacist rhetoric."
"I truly believe [Carlson] is a racist fool," Omar told reporters, later adding, "The fact that he doesn't get the opportunity to ban me from this country and now he gets to call me a congresswoman, I'm sure pisses him off, but he'll eventually get used to it."
On Fox Tuesday evening, Carlson denounced Omar as ungrateful for the opportunities the U.S. afforded her as an immigrant.
As a child, Omar fled war in Somalia with her family, living in a Kenyan refugee camp for four years before obtaining asylum in the U.S. Her election to Congress in 2018 marked a number of firsts — Omar was one of the first two Muslim congresswomen, among other records.
Carlson said that despite her success, Omar has "undisguised contempt" for the U.S., describing her as a product of an unsustainable, "dangerous" immigration system.
"She's a living fire alarm, a warning to the rest of us we better change our immigration system immediately, or else," Carlson said.
He referenced a Washington Post article in which Omar said she was disappointed by injustice in the U.S.
Omar initially responded to Carlson Tuesday night on Twitter, dismissing him as a racist in a sentence capped by laughing emojis.
"No lies will stamp out my love for this country or my resolve to make our union more perfect," she wrote later.
The incident is the latest in a country deeply divided over immigration policy.
