How the Ilhan Omar Marriage Smear Went From Fever Swamp to Trump

[DonViejo]

The curious journey of the unproven rumor that Omar married her brother to get him citizenship—from an obscure Somali diaspora forum to the president.

Will Sommer
Updated 07.19.19 8:07AM ET Published 07.19.19 4:43AM ET

When Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) once married her own brother in an immigration fraud scheme, he demonstrated the remarkable degree to which even the most far-off corners of the right-wing internet can launch unproven, anonymous claims into the national political discourse.

The president had been asked by a reporter from the pro-Trump One America News Network about whether his administration was investigating Omar “for possibly marrying her brother.” In response, Trump hinted that “somebody” in the government was looking into the matter. “There’s a lot of talk about the fact that she was married to her brother,” Trump said. “I know nothing about it. I hear she was married to her brother.”

The remarks were the first Trump had ever uttered on Omar’s marriage. And they represented a remarkable—if not depressing—capstone for the unproven rumor, which has gained steam in the fever swamps for three years as Omar became one of the country’s most outspoken and controversial lawmakers.

The claim that Omar married her own brother as a way for him to gain a green card has been embraced by a number of conservative pundits with ties to the president, including commentator Dinesh D’Souza, talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, and One America host Jack Posobiec. On Thursday, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson discussed it on his show.

Omar, who didn’t respond to requests for comment, has denied that her ex-husband is her brother. And for good reason. What many of the smear’s promoters never reveal to their audience is both the evidence Omar has provided to disprove their conspiracies and the fact that the completely unproven idea that she married her brother is based entirely on a single, anonymous, unsourced allegation initially made on an obscure internet forum.

more
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-ilhan-omar-marriage-smear-went-from-an-anonymous-post-on-an-obscure-forum-to-being-embraced-by-trump?ref=home

[MineralMan]

1. Facts do not matter to Trump and his followers.

"I hear..." "Many are saying..." "Some have claimed..." are all they need.

[DonaldsRump]

2. Was a common tactic of Tricky Dick Nixon

He would say something like "some may say Mr. X is a horrible person, but I not going to discuss that"

The beauty about Trump is that he is so dumb, he's transparent.

[IggleDuer]

3. Did Drumpf have sex with his daughter?

Some people say ...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. I heard that Teflon Don repeatedly raped his sons and his daughter, when they were very young.

[hedda_foil]

4. He keeps redesigned the "unproven" rumor, which sounds birtherish to me.

It's a hoax, a slander, an internet contract theory. It's not "unproven" because that sounds like maybe it could be proven.

[Blue_Tires]

5. This isn't new...

Trump has been regurgitating Brietbart/NewsMax conspiracy bullshit for years before he even became president...

Hell, the far-right conspiracy stuff is always put at the top of his daily news briefing memo by particular staffers, since Trump only glances at the first page...