Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has met with a barrage of criticism for a tweet she published on Tuesday about Vice President Mike Pence, featuring the words “Jesus take the wheel!” accompanied with the hashtag #BorderWall.
The picture of Pence with his eyes closed, which she commented on, was notably taken during Tuesday’s widely covered meeting between President Donald Trump, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer on the border wall funding, which raised concerns about the possible government shutdown if the question is not ultimately resolved.
The tweet was seen by many as an innuendo thrown out against Pence’s Christian faith, with many openly rebuking the politician for that:
When it’s cool to mock christianity but not islam pic.twitter.com/47uKgC2Tlt
— ❄️ Ibrahem Alhabdan (@IbHabdan) 15 декабря 2018 г.
Thank you for clarifying that you are #Christanophobic in addition to being #Judeophobic.
— L.Williams (@LWillia88573860) 15 декабря 2018 г.
"It's called a blink. Eyes do it daily. Silly and sad," one remarked, whereas another cheekily called making fun "for faith" "good job."
Yeah, make fun of someone for their faith. Good job.
— Paul "The Book Guy" Alves (@PaulTheBookGuy) 13 декабря 2018 г.
How would you and your fans would've reacted if a republican politician posted a picture of you and wrote a a similar sentence with Mohammed instead of Jesus?? Your are definitely a lot more fanatical than Pence. He doesn't dress like "Christians" you even dress religiously
— Cyrus S (@CyrusShares) 15 декабря 2018 г.
I wonder how this would go if someone mocked this Muslim soon-to-be Congresswoman about her religion? https://t.co/NeR6L8IvrU
— Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) 14 декабря 2018 г.
During the televised part of the Senate meeting, POTUS vowed to shut down 25 percent of the government if Congress fails to approve earmarking funds worth $5 billion for building the wall on the Mexican border, with the deadline for the resolution slated for December 21.
Sen. Lindsey Graham lauded the president’s tough stance on the issue, saying he is to a great extent “energized” by the ongoing debate, remarking that Democrats supported similar wall funding under other administrations.
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“What's got me so energized here is that we've done in the past more than what the president’s asking for — he's not the bad guy here”, said Graham. A number of Democrats rose up against the remarks, recalling President Trump’s pre-election promises to derive all the necessary funds from Mexico, so that the contentious wall would cost US taxpayers nothing. “Everyone is in favour of border security — we need strong and secure borders. This is about smart use of taxpayer dollars”, Sen. Chris Van Hollen struck back.