Fox’s Brian Kilmeade Claims He ‘Didn’t Intend’ to Question Whether Ilhan Omar Is American

Hours after saying that “you have to wonder if she’s an American first” in response to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) recent remarks about how Muslim-Americans lost civil liberties after “some people did something” on 9/11, Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade tweeted that it wasn’t his intention to question whether Omar is an American.

I didn't intend to question whether Rep. Omar is an American – I am questioning how any American, let alone a United States Congresswoman, could downplay the 9/11 attacks.

— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) April 10, 2019

“I didn’t intend to question whether Rep. Omar is an American – I am questioning how any American, let alone a United States Congresswoman, could downplay the 9/11 attacks,” he wrote Wednesday afternoon.

Asked whether the network had any additional comment on Kilmeade’s remarks, a Fox News spokesperson said that FNC pointed to Kilmeade’s tweet.

After his comments gained traction on Wednesday, Omar tweeted that his comments — along with a highly critical tweet by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) — amounted to “dangerous incitement” considering the death threats she’s faced, adding that she hoped that leaders from both parties would join her in condemning them.

This is dangerous incitement, given the death threats I face. I hope leaders of both parties will join me in condemning it.

My love and commitment to our country and that of my colleagues should never be in question. We are ALL Americans! pic.twitter.com/foTZMpiZKv

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 10, 2019

Following his remarks, a number of critics and observers noted how similar they were to last month’s monologue by Fox News host Jeanine Pirro in which she suggested the Muslim-American Omar doesn’t believe in the United States Constitution because she wears a hijab.

Fox News would later “strongly condemn” Pirro’s comments and pull her off the air for two weeks. Since returning to the air at the end of March, Pirro has not directly addressed her remarks about the freshman congresswoman.

UPDATE: It would appear that Omar is none too impressed with Kilmeade’s explanation.

Seriously, these people think they are slick 🤦🏽‍♀️ https://t.co/XVRNUEIHM3

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 10, 2019

“Seriously, these people think they are slick,” she tweeted.