GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert believes she should receive the same "redemption and forgiveness" she offers others after her Islamophobic remarks about Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Ohmar.
Speaking to Newsmax, Boebert said she has "moved on" from the controversy, in which she described getting an elevator with Omar while joking that she could have been a terrorist.
Speaking to a crowd in late November, Boebert said she felt safe because Omar didn't "have a backpack," as well as referring to her as a member of the "Jihad Squad."
Boebert later apologized on Twitter to Omar and the Muslim community. The pair also had a phone call that Omar described as "unproductive," with Boebert claiming she the Minnesota lawmaker "hung up" on her.
"She rejected my attempt to make amends and ended the call,'' Boebert said on The Chris Salcedo Show.
Salcedo then asked Boebert why "socialist Democrats want to punish you in any way" over her remarks, but have not commented on Sen. Jeanne Shaheen saying on Monday there would be a "revolution" if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
"As the saying goes, if the Democrats did not have double standards, they would have no standards at all," Boebert replied.
"Redemption actually means something to me," Boebert added.
"As a Christian woman, redemption and forgiveness, those are the pillars to my faith. So maybe redemption and forgiveness don't mean as much to those on the other side of the aisle as they do to me.
"I didn't apologize to the Muslim community to appease Ilhan Omar or the rest of the Squad. I did that for me, and my faith, my constituents, the people I was here to serve, and I certainly don't want to offend anyone's religious beliefs.
"But that's where I'm coming from personally. And I don't think that we have those same standards on the other side of the aisle."
Boebert went on to claim that Omar hung up on her during their phone call because she was demanding a more of a public statement of apology from her and that she "wanted me to come crawling to her on my knees begging for forgiveness."
Boebert added: "I pushed back on that, I said if there's going to be a public statement, it needs to come from you to the American people for your anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-police rhetoric.
"And now, she is receiving, unfortunately, the worst of threats to her office. And in the meantime, the past couple of years, she has spent that time demonizing the men and women in blue, who will protect her from those very threats."
Despite claiming she has "moved on" from the offending comments, nearly three dozen Democratic lawmakers signed a letter on Thursday calling for Boebert to be removed from her committee assignments over "anti-Muslim bigotry."
The letter adds: "Muslims across the country are looking to Congress at this moment, watching to see if those they sent to represent their interests in Washington are going to stand up in the face of blatant, vicious Islamophobia."
Omar denied the original elevator story from Boebert, adding the Colorado congresswoman "looks down when she sees me at the Capitol."
"This whole story is made up. Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout," Omar said in a statement. "Anti-Muslim bigotry isn't funny & shouldn't be normalized. Congress can't be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation."
Omar has been contacted for further comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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