President Donald Trump and other Republicans should apologize for attacking freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib over her comments on Israel and the Holocaust because they are twisting her words while criticizing them as being anti-Semitic, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Monday.
"If you read Rep. Tlaib's comments, it is clear that President Trump and congressional Republicans are taking them out of context," Hoyer, D-Md., said in an email, reports The Hill. "They must stop, and they owe her an apology."
Tlaib over the weekend told Yahoo News' "Skullduggery" podcast that she gets a "calming feeling" when she thinks about the Holocaust and about how the losses her Palestinian ancestors suffered "in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time."
"I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways," she also said, "but they did it in a way that took their human dignity away and it was forced on them."
Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Steve Scalise R-La., along with Trump slammed Tlaib, with the president saying she has "tremendous hatred" for Israel.
Tlaib, D-Mich., also fought back, saying that her opponents are "twisting and turning" her words for political gain.
"Policing my words, twisting & turning them to ignite vile attacks on me will not work," she said. "All of you who are trying to silence me will fail miserably. I will never allow you to take my words out of context to push your racist and hateful agenda. The truth will always win."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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