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Talking Points: Rep. Ilhan Omar On What Makes Us Minnesotans

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Among the Minnesota Democrats criticizing President Trump's shutdown offer is freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Among the parts of the proposal Rep. Omar objects to is the president's offer of temporary three-year protection for the so-called Dreamers, who came to the U.S. illegally as children. Omar and many other Democrats believe that protection should be permanent.

Omar is suddenly one of the highest-profile members of the Minnesota delegation, and one of the best-known freshmen in the U.S. Congress.

Rep. Omar already has a national following. Her Twitter account is followed by nearly half a million people. Tweeting about President Trump's proposal to end the shutdown, she offered up a clip of Aretha Franklin saying, "I am going to pass on that." Last week, she came under fire for a tweet about Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, which said, "he is compromised."

Omar says the tweet was meant to show that Graham, who ran against Trump for president, has changed his views on the president's policies. Now, Rep. Omar is at the center of another Twitter storm. Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham said in her podcast Omar "sounds like Rizzo on Grease; she doesn't sound Minnesota, that accent."

Omar came to the U.S. as a child refugee who didn't speak any English. The congresswoman was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning.

"The truth is Laura really doesn't know anything about Minnesota. And just to inform her, what makes us Minnesotans is about our warm and welcoming hearts. It isn't about our accent, and I am excited to call myself a Minnesotan, and raise three Minnesotans and represent Minnesotans in Congress."

The congresswoman may be at the center of some intense debates, but it's unlikely to hurt her in her district. She was elected in a landslide, winning 78 percent of the vote.

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