Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar had a tense phone call discussing the GOP member's alleged racist comments that ended with the latter hanging up due to it being "unproductive."
The incident showed the massive divide between Democrats and Republicans that continues to grow amid various local and international issues. The phone call between Boebert and Omar ended when both officials demanded each other to apologize for past remarks, said the Republican on Monday in an Instagram video.
Intense Phone Call
The GOP member said she organized the call with Omar to let the Democrat know that she had "reflected on my previous remarks." Boebert said that as a strong, Christian woman who values faith deeply, she never wanted her statements to offend any person's religion. She noted that Omar continued to demand a public apology, arguing what Boebert did, which was to put out a public statement, was not good enough.
When Omar pressed for a public apology, Boebert countered by demanding the Democrat apologize for her alleged anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-police comments. The Republican said that the phone call went back and forth and that Omar hung up on her, Fox News reported.
The tense phone call between Boebert and Omar marks the second time this month that a Republican has faced criticism for comments regarding a Democratic official. Shortly before Thanksgiving, Rep. Paul Gosar received consequences from House Democrats after he posted an anime video that showed a representation of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being killed. The Republican was censured and stripped of his committees.
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The recent incident forced White House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team to condemn Boebert for her comments. The official demanded that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy be responsible for delivering punishment to the Colorado Republican.
"This is not about one hateful statement or one politician; it is about a party that has mainstreamed bigotry and hatred. It is time for Republican Leader McCarthy to actually hold his party accountable," said Omar in support of Pelosi's demands, Politico reported.
Anti-Muslim Comments
After the call, Boebert said that she was prepared to put America first, never sympathizing with terrorists, arguing that Omar would never be able to do the same thing. On the other hand, the Democrat said that she believed in respectfully engaging with people she disagreed with but argued that she would not accept outright bigotry and hate.
Omar said that the Republican party has not done anything to address, condemn, and "hold their members accountable for repeated instances of anti-Muslim hate and harassment. In a Twitter post on Friday, Boebert apologized to "anyone in the Muslim community" if they were offended by her remarks.
The apology followed Boebert making anti-Muslim comments the weekend before when she was talking about Omar. In the video that surfaced before, the Democrat was mistaken for a terrorist in an elevator on Capitol Hill. Boebert had also previously called Omar, who is one of two Congresswomen who were Muslims, as a member of the "jihad squad," CNN reported.
