Omar’s Democratic Challenger Says She’s ‘Not Cute’ Enough to Hold Office

A prominent Democratic primary challenger to Rep. Ilhan Omar went on a podcast last week to attack her—and specifically targeted the Minnesota congresswoman’s appearance in doing so. Don Samuels, who narrowly lost the 2022 Democratic primary to Omar, was discussing his campaign on the Nov. 21 episode of The Break Down with Brodkorb and Becky when he segued into what he saw as Omar’s lack of accountability to her constituents. “To not be responsive and available to those people? To meet with them and find out what their concerns are and to answer their tough questions? To not get back to people on the phone? Who do you think you are? And who do you think you're working for?” he asked. “You’re not cute enough, you don’t dress well enough, nothing about you is attractive enough to overcome that deficit.” In a tweet on X, Omar lambasted Samuels’ remarks as “beneath the dignity of any adult, let alone someone seeking public office.” She continued: “It is reminiscent of the worst kinds of lies and misogyny that we are hearing from people like Donald Trump, who think they can say anything about women and get away with it.”