AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File
- Thousands of people used the hashtags #IStandWithIlhan and #IStandWithIlhanOmar after President Donald Trump's supporters chanted "Send her back" in an apparent reference to the congresswoman at a campaign rally on Wednesday.
- The chant happened in Greenville, North Carolina, when Trump said Omar "looks down with contempt on the hardworking Americans saying that ignorance is pervasive in many parts of this country."
- Bernie Sanders, George Takei, and Susan Sarandon were among people who voiced support for Omar.
- Conservative personalities, including Joe Walsh, Ben Shapiro and Fox News contributor Guy Benson, also condemned the chant.
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Thousands of people are voicing their support for Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar on Twitter after President Donald Trump's supporters chanted "Send her back" in an apparent reference to the congresswoman at a campaign rally on Wednesday.
Bernie Sanders, George Takei, and Susan Sarandon were among people using the hashtags #IStandWithIlhan and #IStandWithIlhanOmar on Twitter following the incident.
The chant happened at a Trump campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina. Speaking about Omar, who was born in Somalia but is an American citizen, Trump said: "She looks down with contempt on the hardworking Americans saying that ignorance is pervasive in many parts of this country. And obviously, and importantly, Omar has a history of launching vicious anti-Semitic screeds."
The crowd then started chanting "Send her back!"
Thousands of people condemned the chant on Twitter Wednesday night, calling it "despicable," "hateful," and "vile."
Celebrities including Patton Oswalt and Piper Perabo were among those who voiced support for the freshman congresswoman, who has criticized Trump's policies as part of "the Squad," a group of congresswomen which also includes Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes.
Republican personalities, including Joe Walsh, Ben Shapiro and Fox News contributor Guy Benson, also condemned the chant.
Omar responded to the chant by using a stanza from Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise."
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- 'It's un-American': Conservatives are calling out the 'send her back' chants at Trump's rally
- Rep. Ilhan Omar responds to 'send her back' chant with Maya Angelou poem
#IStandWithIlhan and am proud to work with her in Congress.
Trump is stoking the most despicable and disturbing currents in our society. And that very hatred and racism fuels him. We must fight together to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of our country.
- Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 18, 2019
Trump knows that when we stand together and fight for racial, social, economic and environmental justice, we have the power to defeat him.
So the demagogue is doing what he knows best: Divide and conquer through hate.
His attacks only make us stronger. #IStandWithIlhan
- Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 18, 2019
Trump and his followers, who now chant "Send her back" at his rallies, have shown the vile depth they will go to just to hold on to power. Now it is time each of us showed how far we will go to defeat Trumpism in 2020. It's all hands on deck, all good people to the ballot box.
- George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 18, 2019
#IStandWithIlhan pic.twitter.com/2MdF4ejTTi
- Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) July 18, 2019
You don't have to agree with everything (or anything) naturalized US citizen Rep. Ilhan Omar says to stand with her tonight. I hope you will RETWEET this if, like me, your response to the vile chants of "Send her back!" at Trump's hateful North Carolina rally is #IStandWithIlhan.
- Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) July 18, 2019
What she said. #IStandWithIlhanOmar https://t.co/jgWjlkMG1I
- Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 13, 2019
#IStandWithIlhan. To get to her, you've got to go through all of us. https://t.co/avQerw5GJE
- Faiza N. Ali (@faiza_n_ali) July 18, 2019
#IStandWithIlhan She is a friend.
We have talked about Minnesota voters, who she cares about. She cares about students. She supports women. She supports other civically engaged women (that's how we met!) She is a good mother, citizen, friend and an important member of Congress. pic.twitter.com/NPZLukTRXM
- Piper Perabo (@PiperPerabo) July 18, 2019
.@IlhanMN...
Is an American citizen
Is a duly elected Congresswoman
Loves America
Is a beautiful Black woman from Somalia
Is highly intelligent, charismatic, articulate, and passionate
Speaks truth to power
Isn't being sent anywhere#IStandWithIlhanpic.twitter.com/fdFftd0s8w
- Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) July 18, 2019
This is white supremacy, and we cannot condone it. If you're an elected official or member of media, you can't sit on the sidelines as a neutral party as this continues to happen. Your silence is complicity in vile racism. #IStandWithIlhan
- Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) July 18, 2019
Trump, the GOP, right-wing media and the conservative movement are going to get Ilhan Omar hurt if they don't stop this insanely dangerous bigoted rhetoric. That's not hyperbole. Whenever they make her the target of their hate, she receives serious death threats. #IStandWithIlhan
- Adam Best (@adamcbest) July 18, 2019
"SEND HER BACK, SEND HER BACK," is ugly. It's ignorant. It's dangerous. And it's un-American.
It's flat out bigotry. And every Republican should condemn this bigotry immediately. Stop this now.
- Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 18, 2019
I don't care how spontaneous it was. It was wrong. It's an ugly chant. And the President should have stopped it. Now get off your knees, and quit worshipping the President. He's not a King. https://t.co/x9U6EornE8
- Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 18, 2019
"Send her back" is an appalling chant. Omar is a US citizen.
My less-catchy chant would be: "Condemn her bigotry, combat her radicalism, and investigate her seriously alleged fraud!"
- Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 18, 2019
Vile. Omar is awful. She is a radical anti-Semite with terrible views. She is also an American citizen and chanting for her deportation based on her exercise of the First Amendment is disgusting. https://t.co/Y4nzHPzba4
- Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 18, 2019
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
-Maya Angelou https://t.co/46jcXSXF0B
- Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 18, 2019
👋🏽 I am where I belong, at the people's house and you're just gonna have to deal! pic.twitter.com/W0OvDXGxQX
- Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 18, 2019