A “Squad” member’s latest cry for campaign cash on social media was considered a successful fundraising move — for her opposition.
In addition to facing a repeat primary challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) marked herself among the anti-Israel members of Congress feeling the heat from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Recently, while many leftist organizations had pulled their advertisements from X over Elon Musk’s positions on free speech, Omar’s personal account was caught panhandling with an anti-AIPAC pitch that, based on the comments, appeared to be a boon to the advocacy group.
“Can you rush a donation to Ilhan Omar’s re-election campaign right now, and help us have the resources to fight back against AIPAC and its dark money super PAC that is trying to defeat us?” read one ad. “They might have the big bucks, but we have each other, and that is how we’re going to win.”
The post included a quote from The Daily Beast article titled, “The Squad Is Facing an ‘Existential Threat’ in 2024” which read, “One of the most powerful forces in U.S. politics…is expected to unleash a historic deluge of money in 2024 to defeat left-wing incumbents in primaries…[AIPAC] could spend as much as $100 million, a figure AIPAC has neither confirmed nor denied.”
Can you rush a donation to Ilhan Omar’s re-election campaign right now, and help us have the resources to fight back against AIPAC and its dark money super PAC that is trying to defeat us?
They might have the big bucks, but we have each other, and that is how we’re going to win.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 7, 2023
Another ad with an identical timestamp cited the same article with the caption, “URGENT! AIPAC and outside money groups are preparing to spend over $100 MILLION to try to unseat progressives in Congress. We’ve seen this before. We’re not going to let them do this again.”
“Can you rush a contribution and help us have the resources to fight back?” begged the post.
URGENT! AIPAC and outside money groups are preparing to spend over $100 MILLION to try to unseat progressives in Congress. We’ve seen this before. We’re not going to let them do this again.
Can you rush a contribution and help us have the resources to fight back?
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 7, 2023
The Somali-born congresswoman had been removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the beginning of the year over remarks deemed antisemitic, and her reaction to the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas, along with the subsequently censured Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib and other progressive legislators, had led to the coining of the collective nickname the Hamas Caucus.
Anti-Israel rhetoric from others like Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee had resulted in the Squad seeking aid from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in hopes of shielding their radical members from costly primary races that could see them ousted from power.
“If we have to spend a lot of money to keep our incumbents in office,” lamented Jayapal in November, “then that’s less money that gets spent on frontline districts and districts we can pick up, so it is a real problem.”
AIPAC’s focus on Omar had come before the jihadist attacks on Israel and left her pleading for even small-dollar donations as a previous ad read “please don’t scroll past this.”
Now the organization appeared to be benefitting as users commented about the “Great fundraising message for AIPAC.”
Great fundraising message for AIPAC.
— Michael Harding (@TennBuckII) December 9, 2023
How do I donate to them to remove you?
— Ramp Capital (@RampCapitalLLC) December 7, 2023
Is there a fund to get her out of the country?
I would donate to that— Xcel8Rated (@jshenrichs) December 7, 2023
It appears that her antisemitism is costing her donors. I wonder what took them so long.
— Sooner Son (@RedDirtSooner) December 8, 2023
Donating to whoever runs against you
— Bac4more – standing up and not backing down (@Bac4more2) December 8, 2023
Sweet, I’ll donate to all your opponents.
— Conservative Rebel (@JesseASweeney) December 8, 2023
Haha thanks for the heads up. Wouldn’t have known about this and gonna try and donate to remove you and your friends. This post seems to be backfiring.
— Drew (@dmaysing25) December 8, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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