Rep. ILHAN OMAR Talks Terror In Minneapolis And Becoming American

Summary

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The Adam Friedland Show

Episode: Rep. ILHAN OMAR Talks Terror In Minneapolis And Becoming American

Date: April 15, 2026
Guest: Rep. Ilhan Omar, U.S. Representative from Minnesota

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Episode Overview

This episode features a revealing, candid, and often humorous conversation between host Adam Friedland and Rep. Ilhan Omar. The discussion moves from lighthearted banter and a live Somali tea "cooking segment" to in-depth reflections on Omar’s childhood in Somalia, her experiences as a refugee, her journey to Congress, and her perspective on recent political and social crises—including the militarized ICE actions in Minneapolis.

Rep. Omar shares personal stories of resilience and assimilation, details about the struggles of immigrants and refugees in America, and her views on being a high-profile target of political animosity. The episode provides both levity and gravity, highlighting Omar’s wit, honesty, and courage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Somali Tea & Icebreakers: Lighthearted Start

[06:28-09:42]

• Adam attempts a late-night talk show bit by making Somali tea with Rep. Omar, joking about “spilling tea”—both literally and figuratively.
• Banter about internet rumors and Somali diaspora gossip.
• Omar showcases her patience and playful side, teasing Adam about his lack of cooking skills and gently ribbing him.

Quote:
“We’re spilling the tea and it’s going to be piping hot.” – Adam [07:18]
“These things need to be grind. Would you have a… no, here are the leaves.” – Ilhan Omar [07:22]

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2. Early Life, Family & Becoming American

[10:07-19:10]

• Omar describes growing up in Mogadishu (Somalia), losing her mother young, and being raised by her father and grandfather.
• Both strict but open, they encouraged debate and independence.
• Omar’s transition to the US: arriving in Virginia at age 12 after years in a Kenyan refugee camp.
• Challenges learning English—watching TV with captions as a tool.
• Reflections on being identified as “the first Somali legislator”—and humorous confusion with state vs. federal offices.

Quote:
“I was raised by my dad and grandpa… we were free to have opinions and debate…it wasn’t like they didn’t consider it disrespectful.” – Ilhan Omar [14:14]
“When I came at the age of 12… the only words I knew in English were ‘Hello’ and ‘shut up’.” – Ilhan Omar [17:36]

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3. Cultural Assimilation, TV as a Teacher, and Childhood in America

[16:52-19:10]

• Cultural negotiations: stories about “learning American” through TV, pop culture, and school.
• Adam and Ilhan joke about 90s American shows like Family Matters and Baywatch.
• Humorous asides about adolescent life, gym class anxieties, and “immigrant parent logic.”

Quote:
“My dad didn’t have any context to what was on TV, what was appropriate or not… I watched like, Family Matters… but I didn’t speak English.” – Ilhan Omar [17:01]

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4. The Somali Civil War and Refugee Experience

[20:33-26:38]

• Omar recounts the onset of civil war in Somalia at age 8, the abrupt shift from a middle-class childhood to chaos.
• Conveys the trauma and lasting psychological effects—PTSD, displacement, lost family connections.
• How surviving war and displacement shaped her worldview and resilience.

Quote:
“We went from one day just being a normal kid… to the next day, kids your age are walking around with rifles and there’s bombs dropping.” – Ilhan Omar [24:00]
“I still have PTSD… there’s certain environments that trigger it.” – Ilhan Omar [25:20]

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5. Resilience, Fearlessness & Political Survival

[29:21-32:28]

• Adam discusses the harassment and threats Omar has faced as a prominent Muslim politician.
• She credits her refugee experience for forging resilience and fearlessness.
• Describes a lack of “normal sense of fear” due to what she has survived.

Quote:
“I survived all of these things that could have destroyed me… so what is the point of having fear?” – Ilhan Omar [30:42]

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6. Identity: Immigrant, Muslim, and Being “Othered”

[43:39-45:36]

• Dissects why Omar receives disproportionate negative attention in US politics: not primarily for being Black or a woman, but due to being “an immigrant and visibly Muslim.”
• Firsts: outlines her trailblazing roles as the first Somali-American, first African-born Congress member, and first hijabi Muslim.
• Explores the phenomenon of being celebrated as an immigrant “success story,” and the ensuing backlash.

Quote:
“More because I'm an immigrant and visibly Muslim.” – Ilhan Omar [44:05]
“I was a first for a whole community that was barely recognized as being in the country…” – Ilhan Omar [44:25]

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7. National Attention and Early Political Controversies

[48:22-51:06]

• Adam and Omar review her infamous “Benjamin’s tweet” (about AIPAC, money in politics) and its fallout.
• The generational/cultural disconnect that fueled the controversy.
• Humor and candor about online fights, self-deprecating jokes about both Jewish and Somali self-effacing humor.

Quote:
“…people are lecturing you on antisemitism… you had a tweet about AIPAC… about the Benjamins, like, meaning money in government.” – Adam [49:24]
“It was a generational miss.” – Ilhan Omar [48:58]

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8. Life in Minneapolis & ICE/CBP Occupation

[54:19-59:37]

• Omar describes in detail the 4,000-strong ICE and CBP presence in Minneapolis—harsh, militarized tactics, fear, and arbitrary arrests even of those here legally.
• The terror affecting her district, businesses, schools, and community.
• Clarifies that “98%” of Somalis in Minnesota are there legally, making the federal actions especially egregious.

Quote:
“It was, you know, masked men patrolling the streets with machine guns… arresting people who were telling them that they were citizens, had their documents… They killed Renee Goode and Alex Preddy for just monitoring and documenting the brutality they were witnessing.” – Ilhan Omar [54:47]

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9. Community Organizing and Mutual Aid During Crisis

[61:49-64:34]

• Stories of Minneapolis residents organizing to protect and help each other: block watches, ride sharing for kids, neighbors offering shelter.
• Risk and courage required to challenge systemic brutality—and as an immigrant, why speaking up is a conscious, often dangerous choice.

Quote:
“I would want, if there was a member of Congress that represented me, I would want them doing everything that they could in defending me and speaking up for me…” – Ilhan Omar [63:39]

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10. Political Disillusionment & The Limits of Democratic Power

[65:17-68:02]

• Discussion of the failures and unintended consequences of bipartisan immigration enforcement—Obama-era detention centers enabling later abuses.
• Omar’s hope that Democratic control would at least restore “checks and balances,” if not transformative change.
• Skepticism about both parties and the practical challenges of systemic reform.

Quote:
“We cannot create systems that can be exploited by evil… To them, they thought at the time this was cost-saving… But they gave a playbook to the most evil people like Stephen Miller…” – Ilhan Omar [65:17]

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11. Personal Anecdotes: College at the Mall, Family Pride, and Philosophy

[68:29-74:44]

• Humorous recall of attending “National American University” at the Mall of America and working retail jobs.
• Reflection on her late father’s pride and grandfather’s skepticism of political science as a field of study.
• Emphasizes that politics is an active verb (“politics is something you do”).
• Jokes about immigrant mom logic and therapy.

Quote:
“My grandfather was like, politics is something you do. It is not something you study.” – Ilhan Omar [71:19]

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12. Resilience & Closing Reflections

[74:44–End]

• Adam and Omar reflect on her resolve in the face of attacks; Adam credits her as an example of American resilience and authenticity.
• Omar discusses her commitment to not internalizing hate and maintaining her focus on serving constituents.
• Banter about future cooking segments and the quality of the Somali tea.

Quote:
“I think it’s just really great to see an example… of one person who, despite all this, is just like, fuck you. I have every right to be here as much as you do.” – Adam [74:44]
“We mainly feel bad for the crazy people who call into our office and spend that much time thinking about us.” – Ilhan Omar [74:00]

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Notable & Memorable Moments (with Speaker Attribution & Timestamps)

• On Growing Up in War:
  “We went from…just being a normal kid…to the next day, kids your age are walking around with rifles and there’s bombs dropping.”
  – Ilhan Omar [24:00]

• On Refugee Resilience:
  “I survived all of these things…that could have destroyed me…so what is the point of having fear?”
  – Ilhan Omar [30:42]

• Describing Minneapolis Under ICE Occupation:
  “Masked men patrolling the streets with machine guns, stopping cars, dragging people out of the cars, breaking windows, arresting people who were telling them that they were citizens…”
  – Ilhan Omar [54:47]

• Why Her Grandfather Chose America:
  “America was the only country in the world where you will eventually become an American.”
  – Ilhan Omar relaying her grandfather’s words [42:19]

• On Political Obstacles:
  “We cannot create systems that can be exploited by evil… they gave a playbook to the most evil people like Stephen Miller…”
  – Ilhan Omar [65:17]

• On Not Internalizing Hate:
  “We mainly feel bad for the crazy people who call into our office and spend that much time thinking about us.”
  – Ilhan Omar [74:00]

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Takeaways

• Rep. Ilhan Omar’s life embodies both the promise and perils of the American immigrant experience: trauma, resilience, hope, and achievement alongside persistent “othering” and political hostility.
• Her perspective on war, displacement, and community organizing under extreme pressure offers a nuanced critique of both American society and its political systems—highlighting the limits of both partisanship and well-meaning liberalism.
• The conversation balances genuine warmth and humor with hard-hitting, personal testimony about the challenges faced by refugees, immigrants, and marginalized communities in America today.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

No, I mean, I've got. I've got six older siblings. I've got three brothers, so.

[A]

And you've never lost one fight, could you? You could beat up anyone in Congress.

[B]

I don't want my brothers being upset about this.

[A]

But you beat they butts. I don't know why I said it that way. You beat your brother's butts to a little girl.

[B]

We'll leave that to the imagination.

[A]

You were little though.

[B]

I was.

[A]

Did you do it in front of girls their age?

[B]

No.

[A]

Thank God. They would have never lived that down.

[B]

But I rarely fought girls. I mostly.

[A]

She's such a gangster.

[B]

I'm sorry.

[A]

Hello and welcome to the Adam Friedland Show. It's Adam, guys. First off, I have to say this. Tampa, Florida, this weekend, please come see me Science Players Comedy club. And also in a Couple weeks, I'll be in Los Angeles, California, at the Region Theater. We sold out the first show. They've added a second. Enough of that. My guest this week is Ilhan Omar, representative from Minnesota in the House of Representatives. Since her election to the house in 2019, Omar has become one of the most well known, oftentimes maligned politicians in America today. I really enjoyed getting to know her backstory. I knew some of it, but it's really unlike any other member of Congress. At 8 years old, civil war broke out in Somalia and she escaped to Kenya to a refugee camp. And at 12, she moved to Virginia with her family before eventually settling in Minneapolis. Since her election to Congress, she's also been subject to constant harassment and even death threats. There have been Republican candidates for office who have called for her execution. Multiple people have been imprisoned for plotting her assassination. President Trump has targeted her repeatedly throughout her entire time in Congress. He's advocated for her expulsion from the country. Hmong, just other derogatory, whatever. Funnily enough, we had this scheduled twice before on the calendar, and those two times were the days that New York City had blizzards. This year, it's the Jewish God is mad at me. Hashem is mad at me. The first two times, she had extensive security detail that was provided by Congress. She was the only member of Congress that had it, and they needed access to do full security sweeps of the studio. And on Friday, when I asked her team if they needed access this weekend, they said that Speaker Johnson has revoked that security. I had a bunch of questions prepared for the congresswoman about what it's like for a person to endure all that. But what I could tell immediately is that she. She's genuinely just unafraid and unfazed, or at least she seems like she is. I don't think many people could do that. I think it takes a really special person to do that. So here's my interview. We do a funny bit up top, if you're still watching. She said it was better than Hasan. Just for the record, ladies and gentlemen, Congresswoman from Minnesota, Ilhan Omar. This is our third attempt at this.

[B]

It is. How are you?

[A]

I. Do you think that this is cursed? Do you think we're cursed?

[B]

You know, there's always weather issues.

[A]

No, we've had two blizzards.

[B]

Minnesota.

[A]

So it's just in New York City, we've had two blizzards, and those were both on the day that you were supposed to come.

[B]

Yeah. Welcome to our situation in Minnesota.

[A]

Minnesota, yeah. Do you like it there? It seems plenty cold. No.

[B]

Yeah. But as Prince said, it keeps the bad people away.

[A]

One thing that kind of is a little bit upsetting to me is that enemy of the show, Mr. Hasan. Hasan Peaker. Got you. He snuck in there and he gave you a tea that everyone. It's become a meme. Hasan got some store bought bottled tea that was warm and everyone's like, wow, he's such a great guy.

[B]

So it's one of my favorites, though.

[A]

Fine. But I've done one better.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I've gotten a big challenge. I've got an authentic Somali tea. We're gonna do a cooking segment, late night talk show style. Can we get. Can we get the boys out here? And we're gonna do a. We're gonna do a segment called Somali Tea.

[B]

Okay. We're actually gonna make Somali tea.

[A]

We're gonna make Somali tea. You're gonna teach me how, but I'm also gonna spill some Somali tea.

[B]

Okay? All right.

[A]

Sounds good. I don't know if you.

[B]

I don't know if Trump will approve of this, but.

[A]

What do you mean? Well, I heard Donald Trump's been getting fat. It's like that kind of thing. We're spilling tea. Hurry up, guys. She's not sure about the show yet. We gotta really win her over with this Somali tea.

[B]

Did you hear it from Trump?

[A]

No, no, not that kind of thing.

[B]

Okay? I'm just saying we're not gonna do racism. No, like, I'm just saying your tea can't come.

[A]

No, listen, sis, we're spilling the tea and it's going to be piping hot.

[B]

These things need to be grind. Would you have a.

[A]

No, no, no. Here are the leaves.

[B]

These are special, but the cardamom needs to be broken.

[A]

Oh, my God. I look like an idiot.

[B]

Guys.

[A]

What do I turn this on extra hot. Do we have water?

[B]

You need wine.

[A]

Oh, behind me.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

So, yeah, from a very. Yeah, Look. Look how expensive this looks, huh?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Wow. This is just. I feel like a Jimmy Fallon. Huh? Well, maybe I can serve a little piping hot tea because I was on somalispot.com.

[B]

okay.

[A]

And I. I heard that the truth about that Ashraf guy on TikTok is that he's rich because he and his brother work for own an NGO in Somalia. But you didn't hear that from me.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

You get it? It's like tea.

[B]

I got it.

[A]

Okay. I don't know, a little bird.

[B]

I'm struggling, trying to keep things open. It's fine. We're good to go.

[A]

Well, that's a dash of clove.

[B]

Yeah, looks like you put about cinnamon cardamom. It needs to be broken up, but okay.

[A]

Okay. Just a little birdie told me that the president of Somaliland, Abdurahman Mohammed Abdullah has announced a sweeping cabinet reshuffle involving new appointments, dismissals, and transfers across key ministries. But you didn't hear that from Mises.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Wow.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

We were putting you to work. You're the guest. This is going to be delicious. I'm sure. I don't know if you heard this, but Ethiopia and Eritrea have been saying that they have more beautiful lighthouses than us.

[B]

Well, we have the longest coast in Somalia, so I don't know.

[A]

Yeah. And I heard Eritrea said she had breathing issues, but really it was a nose job. Oh, my God. We're being so bad right now. So that's our bit. Somali tea. We're gonna. This is by far the stupidest thing we've ever done on the show. Can someone take the hot plate?

[B]

Yeah, if you lift that, I can lift this.

[A]

Ow. This is terrible. This is very dangerous.

[B]

I'll move the whole table.

[A]

You grab that. There we go. Wow. I'll leave this there, guys. That. Our first cooking segment has been an absolute winner. Justin, don't put it in a solo cup. It's gonna melt it. That's what Caleb told me. No, we have these.

[B]

Yeah. Perfect.

[A]

I was about to say, do we have mugs? I've really enjoyed learning about you for this episode, and I think that you're obviously. Do you feel like you're one of the most well known members of Congress?

[B]

I mean, sure.

[A]

Would it be fair to say that you're used as a political cudgel?

[B]

I might be a little bit of a boogeyman for the maga. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And it started pretty much immediately, if I remember correctly.

[B]

Yes. Right after I, like, won my primary race for the state House. So nobody should have actually known who I was.

[A]

Well, how did Maroon 5 find out who you were? I don't know if any of you know this, but in the Girls like you video, you are along with Ellen DeGeneres.

[B]

Yeah. J. Lo.

[A]

If I could be Cardi B. Cardi B. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I guess. Like, when did you come to national prominence or something like that was obviously before you were in Congress.

[B]

Well, when I won my state House race, they said I was the first Somali legislator to be elected in the United States. And I think people didn't distinguish the fact that I was a state legislator and not a member of Congress.

[A]

Really?

[B]

And so everybody was congratulating Me, I was getting phone calls from like world leaders around the world.

[A]

Around the world of the United States. Yeah.

[B]

And people were going to the Capitol, trying to find my office.

[A]

And so everyone is very stupid. Well, was it like a. Just a very generous headline? Did they not.

[B]

Yeah, I think that people don't. Most people, they don't know that state legislators and you know, because you're called a representative when you're a state legislator and when you're in the House, you're also called a representative, so people, I think, just kind of confuse the two.

[A]

And you beat a lady who wanted to lower the voting age to 12, is that correct?

[B]

Well, she was there for 44 years, so yeah.

[A]

But she said that 13 year olds should vote.

[B]

She had some interesting ideas.

[A]

I think that's cool. I think kids rule. I think the maximum voting age should be 18.

[B]

I have a pretty smart 13 year old and I'm not sure she's ready to vote.

[A]

I think she is. I think the kids rock and teachers suck and there's too much homework. 13. That was my problem.

[B]

They don't give as much homework as they used to when I was in high school now.

[A]

Oh, boo hoo. I know that rocks.

[B]

Oh, no. It's sad for a parent. I'm like, I want the same torture I went through for my kids to go through.

[A]

Did you have them at home for Covid?

[B]

I did have them home for Covid for four kids.

[A]

You were in the government and you had four kids at the Korea?

[B]

Yeah, it was wild.

[A]

Were you losing your mind?

[B]

It was actually more entertaining because I remember one time I was cooking lunch and my youngest daughter, who was in elementary at the time, I think she was in third grade, was doing PE through the computer and like. Computer pe? Yeah. And so I just like she was on her laptop at the dining room table and I turned around and she was doing jumping jacks. And it was. Yeah, it was a very weird thing to see her do and then like to hear everyone else like doing it through the noise that was coming from the computer.

[A]

That must stink though, that you can't like see your friends.

[B]

That was painful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. But it was a good bonding time for I think, the four of them.

[A]

Do you think we afford kids enough sympathy for that? I think we only talk about their, like, gender, like surgeries, but I don't think we talk about the fact that they went through a tough time growing up. No.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of like, social interaction that was missed for a lot of the kids. That went through Covid.

[A]

Are they weird? No. A little bit. You lost your mom young.

[B]

I did.

[A]

So you were two.

[B]

Two. Ish. Yeah.

[A]

So I guess, like, how did you. You had to teach yourself how to be a mother.

[B]

I did, yeah. I mean, and I think, you know, I was actually just talking to my youngest daughter about this. You know, I was raised by my dad and grandpa, and they were both strict, but they liked to talk to us as if we were adults. And so we, you know, were free to have opinions and debate with them, and it wasn't like they didn't consider it disrespectful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, you know, we had a lot of, like, autonomy as. As kids, and so that's kind of how I raise my kids. It's like, they know what not to do, but they're also very independent, and.

[A]

Thank you, Justin. I appreciate it. Great timing. What's the l' chaim in Somalia? What's the cheers?

[B]

Oh, we don't do cheers.

[A]

Oh, because it's. No. Yeah.

[B]

Haram. Yeah. It didn't make it into our vocabulary.

[A]

I burned my tongue.

[B]

So maybe salut.

[A]

Salut.

[B]

Yes. We were colonized by the Italians, so there's a lot of Italian influence.

[A]

Yeah. One thing, when you were talking about your father, that kind of. I mean, my parents moved to America as well, and I like how to kind of communicate American culture. I know you moved here as a child, but. But, like, beyond being a single dad, he also was raising his kids in this alien culture. And there's, like, a really cute part of your book where you talk about where you want to wear cute clothes in high school. And he was like, fine with that. But he's like, but no kissing. If you kiss, I'm out. I'm out on that.

[B]

He was out on a lot of things.

[A]

Yeah, me too. I remember seeing sixth grade, my parents got me regular underpants. And then sixth grade, you have to start changing for gym class. And so I asked my parents if I can get boxers. And my dad was like, why would a boy care about his underpants? I was like, I don't know. People are calling me gay. I'm not gay. And he's like, do you have body dysmorphia? I'm like, what does that mean? So I had boxers for pajamas, and I used to just.

[B]

They do go from 0 to 100.

[A]

Immigrant parents. Nothing makes sense to them.

[B]

Yeah, I do still have a little bit of that. Even though, like, I've been here for over 30 years, I still do have, like, the Little bit of the immigrant parent. My kids are like, okay, yeah, relax. We were joking.

[A]

But you had to learn American.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

We're hopping around a lot because I want to get into your story before that. But what were the things that you could kind of educate? Was it the show BAE watch?

[B]

I mean, I could watch anything.

[A]

I love tv.

[B]

My dad didn't have any context to, like, what was on tv, what was appropriate or not appropriate. And he also had to work a lot, so he wasn't really home. And so I watched, like, Family Matters.

[A]

And you were raised on Urkel taught you.

[B]

I was raised on everything that would come on TV after I got off school. School. So, yeah, just the TV was just on all the time. And, like. But. But I didn't speak English, and I was struggling because the only words when I came at the age of 12 that I knew.

[A]

Did I do that? Steve Urkel.

[B]

No, I would learn that. I know the first words. It was hello and shut up.

[A]

Hello, shut up.

[B]

And that's. That's that fun when that's the only words, you know, in sixth grade. So.

[A]

That's so cute. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Maybe your teacher wrote something in your

[A]

yearbook that I thought was adorable. I don't want to misquote it, but it said, like, ilhan, like, age 11. Hello. Shut up. Age 12. Hello. My name is Ilhan. Nice to meet you. It's like, it makes me want to cry. It's so cute.

[B]

It went. Mr. Miller. It was very. Yeah, that was very cute.

[A]

So what, like, when did. I suppose. Like, when did you first feel American? You know,

[B]

I don't know if there's a moment, I believe, when I could communicate and, like, navigate life and feel like just like one of the other kids. Maybe when I felt like I was American, maybe that was like, 14. 13. 14.

[A]

That's fast.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You came here at 11? No, 12. 12. So in two years you learned English?

[B]

I was pretty fluent within, like, three to six months.

[A]

And you learned Baywatch. You learned.

[B]

Yeah, I would watch the TV with the captions on, and then my sister and I would just have the dialogue that they were having on tv. And that was kind, like, it helped, I guess, not to develop a strong accent as well.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But, yeah, like, I think much of my English before, you know, I got into my formal education was, like, context based.

[A]

Yeah. All my non American, like, family learned. Learned it from friends.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they'd be like, adam, you're such a chandelier. You're so sarcastic. I'm like, yeah, it's True. I am. I'm not. Definitely not a Ross. I wish I was a Joey a little bit sometimes.

[B]

Nobody wants to be a Ross.

[A]

Ross. What a schmuck. Schmuck. No.

[B]

I also don't know if I could handle a Joey.

[A]

Joey. Why? He's so stupid.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Joey's like. You feel like. Yeah. Like you could toss him away.

[B]

Yeah. It would be too painful to hang out.

[A]

It was fun while it lasted, Joey. But you're not. You're no thinker. I need someone more.

[B]

I think we could talk for an hour. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm a conversationalist, so I like people who could hold me.

[A]

And Joey would be like, I thought you were Somalier. You're like Somalian. What's wrong with you, Joey? How do you even have a license to drive? You shouldn't be allowed to vote. You're spoken about so much. But I don't think people understand how much of a journey your life has been and potentially how it's made you the person you are today. Which is a person that's like, fuck you. I'm not going anywhere, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We're born in Mogadishu. How old were you when the civil war broke out?

[B]

8.

[A]

8. What were your memories of Somalia before that?

[B]

Well, this is the thing that people usually get upset about because they're like, oh, she just glorifies her childhood. And, like, my childhood was pretty normal.

[A]

Like not being in a war. That sounds pretty nice.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, that wasn't. Yeah. Part of my. My life. I grew up in a very loud, loving home. My mother. It's fascinating story culturally. In Somalia, the tradition is if you get married, you have two options. Either you have your own home with, you know, your wife and your kids or if you don't have enough resources, you move your. The husband moves his wife in with his family.

[A]

The in laws.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It's gotta be annoying. Well, or beautiful.

[B]

Yeah. It depends on who the in laws are. And my mother was the firstborn of her family and she wanted to help her dad economically. She wanted to help make sure her siblings were raised well.

[A]

She was an ethnic minority too.

[B]

She was. She's of Yemeni heritage. And so she was very adamant that any suitor had to agree to move in with. With her family, which was a cultural. No. No. And so my dad, when supposedly she was there was this coffee shop that he would frequent after work and she would come by that coffee shop to go home. And he said it was love at first sight. He wanted to know who this woman was and started to show. He figured out where she worked and started to show up at her job and kept asking to talk to her and she wasn't interested, but eventually said yes.

[A]

He wore her down.

[B]

He wore her down. And then she made her demand that if they were to get married, he had to move in. And that was, I suppose a hard choice for my father, but he was in love with her mother, with her mother and father and her siblings. I know. And he said yes. And I think as it would be, it was probably one of the best choices he made. And so he moved in. We were born in my grandfather's house. My grandmother died before I was born, so my mom had younger siblings that she had to help take care of as she was having kids. And so I grew up with my aunts and uncles along with my siblings. And so it was a full house.

[A]

And you were the youngest too?

[B]

I'm the youngest of seven, yeah.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Being a member of Congress and understanding what it's like to be a child in a war torn environment, what was that like as an 8 year old? I mean, what are your memories of that?

[B]

It's distorting because like I said, I had a pretty normal childhood. My family was like middle class, upper middle class for Somalia Standard in the 80s, you know, again, I lived with my mother before she passed who had full time employment. My father, my grandfather, my aunts and uncles who were all teachers. And so there was multiple salaries coming into our one household. So we were pretty comfortable. And then, you know, we went from one day just being a normal kid going to school and playing, and the next day, you know, kids around your age are walking around with rifles and there's bombs dropping.

[A]

38 year olds. Well, 39 year olds. Shit. Eight.

[B]

Eight year olds. Eight, nine year olds.

[A]

I know I seem like an eight year old. Yeah, I look eight, but I'm 39.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

When you have a vote, I mean, I know that we're in a new kind of military operation, whatever the fuck that is. Do memories of like hearing gunfire, do they inform your kind of morality or your understanding of like what the, what it means, what war is?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I do think of war through the lens of someone who survived one.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I understand the lasting impacts of war. It's the displacement, it's the trauma that you can't get rid of. I mean, I still have ptsd. There's certain environments that trigger it. And I think for a lot of people, especially a lot of people in the United States, unless You've been a service member and been in combat zone. Like, people can't fully comprehend, so they're just like, oh, there's war, and things get back to normal and everybody's fine. And nobody accounts for the destruction that happens. Nobody accounts for the mysterious of education that instability brings. The loss of jobs, the loss of infrastructure, the loss of your memories, the connection to family, to your history. You know, I get a lot of people who are like, yeah, you should be grateful that, you know, you. You have this beautiful life. I am grateful enormously that I have this beautiful life.

[A]

More so.

[B]

But it comes with a cost, you know? And I think that a lot of people. Because we are in America, a lot of people just see people who come here seeking a new life and just are like, why aren't you just really excited? It's like, yeah, they are excited, but they also have the human capacity to miss what was lost. My great grandmother, who also lived with us and helped raise us. I didn't see her for many years after the war. She passed away without me saying goodbye to her. And I would have loved to have been by her side when she passed away, as I was with my grandfather and father.

[A]

I think there's this notion of what a refugee is. In learning about you and researching for this, obviously there's a. There's a xenophobic thing happening, which is like, for the first time, I'm 38. Or 39. Fuck, I'm 39. It sounds so bad. I'm 40.

[B]

I'm turning 44 this year, so I don't know why you hanged up on the.

[A]

We're the same age.

[B]

I'm older. 5.

[A]

It sounds like we're the same age. And you're in Congress.

[B]

You would have been in eighth grade when I was graduating high school. So you're okay.

[A]

Yeah. You would have bullied me, probably.

[B]

No, I was very much opposed to bullying.

[A]

We would have been best friends. Obviously.

[B]

I would have fought your bullies for you.

[A]

No, I didn't have any because I was so funny. All the bullies were laughing so much at my funny jokes.

[B]

No, but I thought that's how people become funny, is because they get bullied 100%.

[A]

100%. Wow.

[B]

We having a therapy session? Is that what's happening right now?

[A]

Yeah. I'm gonna get on the couch. Well, no, I think there's. Obviously. It seems like this is the most xenophobic I've ever seen of the country, but also, there's a notion even more so.

[B]

Yeah. Than his first term.

[A]

Oh, I mean, it's not him. It's just. It's people, you know, but on the other side, I think there's a notion of refugee. Like, there's those, like, posters, like, refugees are welcome here. But almost as if, like, you know that, like you're lesser than kind of even in the liberal sense, like, oh, please come. Like, you know, like, come sit down.

[B]

It's well meaning, though.

[A]

It's well meaning for sure. But it's like, could be patronizing. Being a refugee has equipped you as an adult and is a. Oh, yeah.

[B]

I mean, my resilience is because I

[A]

was a refugee and I, you know, like, you were supposed to come twice and your security detail was supposed to do an extensive sweep. You had, you had a, like Secret Service level security because there are multiple people that are incarcerated for plotting assassinations. Obviously. We saw at the town hall recently that. Yeah, but you, you fucking charged. You were like.

[B]

I did.

[A]

I thought you're like, what?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

You charged him.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I did. The only thing I knew how to

[A]

do, what dawned on me was like. Yeah, because, like, she walked to Kenya as an eight year old or a nine year old, you know, like, close enough.

[B]

I didn't walk all the way to Kenya, but. Yes.

[A]

Well, you don't say walk to them, make it sound worse. What did you. What you got to where you got a piggyback ride? You went to. What do you. Come on, just let me do the. Okay, let me do the Jewish thing. She walked to Kenya. And then seeing Republican candidates for office, calling for your execution, and seeing the president fixated on you, I think it's fair to say. Is that where your bravery comes from or am I off base?

[B]

What I mean, and I think the. In the refugee story, I think, or any sort of displacement story through traumatic events is that, you know, that old adage of, you know, what doesn't break you makes you stronger. You know, there are people who do end up being broken. Right? But I think it did the opposite for me. I think it gave me a sense of, of I survived all of these things that could have destroyed me, could have killed me. And so what is the point of having fear? I kind of really don't have the normal sense of fear. I mean, I have irrational fear of certain things, but I don't have snakes. I'm a little, like, claustrophobic.

[A]

Me too.

[B]

Yeah. And I think that because we had to hide under beds, you know, when the, when the bombs would drop, you know, or like, try to hold on to the side of a wall just to make sure if it collapsed, that you could crawl out. But I think those tight corners being put in those tight corners, I think maybe helped me develop just a little bit of claustrophobia.

[A]

I feel bad for saying, me too, but. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. But I mean, there's different things that happen, right? Yeah. I don't know, but I think, you know, when you are, you know, eight, and you are crossing multiple checkpoints and people have guns pointed at you, you know, like, you just develop a sense of, like, I got through that. You know, what. What else could happen?

[A]

Reminds me a lot of when my dad wouldn't get me boxer shorts when I was in sixth grade. You know, we've both been. We have different stories and we've been through. I've been through a lot.

[B]

Yeah. Very traumatic.

[A]

I didn't get. I didn't hit puberty until basically after 10th grade. So we've both been through a lot.

[B]

You know, isn't that not the normal age?

[A]

I know you're grievance politics. No, it's not the normal age. Some of. In sixth grade, some of them are, like, with beards, and we're like, how are we the same grade? Two kids had sex in sixth grade.

[B]

And.

[A]

And I went home and cried. I don't know why I'm telling a sitting member of Congress this, but I cried. And I remember both their full names still to this day. I cried. I said I thought we were just kids. Sex.

[B]

You saw that? Did they tell you about it?

[A]

I just heard.

[B]

What's the context of this?

[A]

After sixth grade, you could beat both their names. El had sex.

[B]

Oh, God.

[A]

And I cried.

[B]

They're gonna sue you.

[A]

I thought we were gonna show.

[B]

They're sue you for sharing this.

[A]

So tell us about Kenya. Did you chill with Malik Obama ever? No. Did you ever link up with Malik Obama? You know who he is? His brother?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

He's like maga. Yeah.

[B]

No, no, I don't.

[A]

He's a hater. He's hating from Kenya. He's just tweeting and hating.

[B]

I don't think we were even in

[A]

the same region of Kenya, but no. So your mentor in Kenya was Malik Obama? Is he related to Barack Obama or is that like a common last name? Is it like Kim in Korea? I don't know. Your family got the visa to move to the States and to leave the refugee camp in Kenya. Also, you learned how to scrap. Is that where you learned how to scrap?

[B]

No, I mean, I've got. I've got six older Siblings. I've got three brothers, so.

[A]

And you've never lost one fight? Could you. You could beat up anyone in Congress.

[B]

I don't. I don't want my brothers being upset about this, but you beat they.

[A]

They butts. I don't know why I said it that way. You beat your brother's butts to a little girl.

[B]

We'll leave that to the imagination.

[A]

You were little, though.

[B]

I was.

[A]

Did you do it in front of girls their age?

[B]

No.

[A]

Thank God. They would have never lived that down.

[B]

But I rarely fought girls. I mostly fought boys.

[A]

She's such a gangster.

[B]

I'm sorry. Girls are scratched and I didn't want my. I didn't want my face scratched.

[A]

You're a boxing MMA fan?

[B]

I am a boxing mma.

[A]

Do you. Do you like my favorite boxer, Naoya Inoue? Do you like him?

[B]

He's all right.

[A]

The monster. You think he's all right? The amount of power.

[B]

Okay. All right.

[A]

Honestly, he's.

[B]

I am a fan of the sport. I don't really have.

[A]

You like Bud?

[B]

I don't.

[A]

Crawford.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

He's the man.

[B]

Yes. He's amazing. We watched his last fight against Canelo. We just watched Wilder, too.

[A]

The. Oh, yeah. This talk show is sponsored slash brought to you by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all in one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or scaling your business, Squarespace gives you everything you need to claim your domain. Showcase your offerings with a personal professional website. Grow your brand, get paid all in one place. I love Squarespace. Why do I like it? Because it's the easiest place to make a website. I've been making websites and that. I won't say what it is because it's supposed to be anonymous websites, but they have been gaining some traction and. Your move.

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[A]

You asked your dad, why America? Why you chose America?

[B]

My grandpa.

[A]

Your grandfather.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He said America was the only country in the world where you will eventually become an American. And it's interesting because he was very right about that. You know, I don't know too many places where an immigrant can absorb the identity of a new nation they arrive

[A]

in, I guess, because it's not an ethnicity, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like German is an ethnicity and nationality.

[B]

Yeah. I know a lot of people use Japan as an example, which is crazy.

[A]

I mean, I guess that's the thing I always thought was awesome about America.

[B]

I mean, the people here who would be, you know, the inhabiters of what was to become America, were not calling themselves that. And so I think that creates the distinction where, you know, like a country like Somalia, the people are Somali, so everyone else that's there, like, they have their own ethnic backgrounds and stories, but there is a core group of people

[A]

who are just Somali as a legislator, that is. That's hijabi, black and a woman. Do you think that that is kind of on the surface why so much negative attention is paid to you? I mean.

[B]

I mean, I would say less because I'm a woman and black, more because I'm an immigrant and visibly Muslim.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

One thing that's odd to me is like, the Obama era. Right. Like, you seem like a person that, like, it would be the State of the Union or something, and you point to the balcony, be like, ilhan Omar was a refugee in Kenya and she came to America and she worked her way up and became a success. It used to be something that we celebrate.

[B]

Yeah. But I think that is the backlash is because it was celebrated. Right. The reason earlier you asked, how does everybody know you? How do you come to national attention? Is because I was a first for a whole community that was barely recognized as being in the country. And here I am less than a little over 20 years after arriving here as a kid, as a member of Congress.

[A]

You're the first African refugee.

[B]

I am the first African born.

[A]

You're the first Somalian.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You're the first Muslim woman to wear Rashida.

[B]

Rashida came in together. Yeah.

[A]

Rashida. But was it alphabetical?

[B]

Yeah, but I'm also the first Muslim not born in the US to ever serve in Congress.

[A]

Oh, so Rashida doesn't have that on you?

[B]

No, she's born here.

[A]

Yeah, she's born here.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's kind of soft of Rashida.

[B]

I mean. And Keith Ellison was born here, Andre Carson was born here, and Latifah Simon was born here. So there's four of us that are in Congress.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But everybody seems to only remember I'm. I'm the Muslim one that exists there because I'm visibly Muslim, and I'm also an immigrant.

[A]

Do you think they're also haters because, like, I don't know, everyone's uglier.

[B]

No. People are beautiful in their own way.

[A]

What, you think Lindsey Graham is beautiful in his own way?

[B]

I'm sure somebody thinks Lindsey Graham.

[A]

You work at an ugly office. Okay, let's be real. Have you seen some of these people? Why do we let them in charge of us? You can.

[B]

It is not a beauty contest.

[A]

Okay, listen, I'm not. Look at them. Some of the. Wait, you think Mitch McConnell got there because of pretty privilege?

[B]

You think I got there because of pretty privilege?

[A]

No, I think you overcame a lot.

[B]

Okay, well, thank you. I appreciate that. I didn't know where we were going with this.

[A]

I'm just saying, you want to work at an ugly place.

[B]

One of my opponents when I first ran for office.

[A]

How busted Was busted?

[B]

No. Said that I was gaining traction because I was attractive.

[A]

And you were like, thanks, but no, thanks.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. No, I appreciated the compliment, but I'm pretty sure it was more than that

[A]

when you got into the house. I think probably our audience's understanding of Nancy Pelosi is kind of probably negative. I don't know. People are very. Hate Congress in general. Can you tell us a little bit about, like, you know, what she told you about being a woman and government? Why are you laughing? I meant to say that. Why is she laughing at me?

[B]

I don't know if she.

[A]

Did I say woman? How did I say Sorry. Sorry. I've just never met someone in a Maroon 5 music video with Ellen and Gal Gadot and Millie Bobby Brown. Young Millie.

[B]

No, I mean, Pelosi is a fascinating person because, you know, she's an only daughter to a family of, like, many boys.

[A]

Yeah. Also a political family.

[B]

Yeah. And she had her own, you know, I think strengthening, growing up with lots of brothers in the same way that I did. She was very close with her father like I did. So we had sort of, you know, some of those kind of things in common. A little toughness in us that was intentionally built by our brothers and father. And, you know, I don't take bullshit. She doesn't take bullshit. So it was easy to connect in that way.

[A]

She said that they're gonna be beat to you because you're a girl.

[B]

No, but I mean, she's, you know, she also had to denounce me a few times, you know.

[A]

Oh, we all denounced you a few times.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I think she understood that I didn't care.

[A]

I think the first time I heard about you was during the Benjamin's tweet. And something that really pissed me off was that I feel like a lot of people online, kind of people I would expect, even kind of took the bait on that one.

[B]

It was a generational miss.

[A]

Yeah, but there was a soul voice that spoke out of the darkness on your behalf online. What was it like to. To hear that person standing up for you?

[B]

Who's.

[A]

That?

[B]

Is that you, Adam? Okay.

[A]

I got in big trouble.

[B]

Okay. Well, appreciated it.

[A]

Well, you're going to get mad at me about what I said, but I was upset because people are lecturing you on anti Semitism. Just to back up, you had a tweet about aipac, which is a lobbying organization. Right.

[B]

Which uses very toxic lobbying organization.

[A]

Sure, we know. No, but you got a tweet that was all about the Benjamins, like, meeting that money and government.

[B]

Also, like from the song.

[A]

Also the. The rap song. Also his name is Benjamin Netanyahu. I mean, it worked on three. It was a. It was a triple entendre.

[B]

Well, the other layers had no factor in. Outside of the. Yeah, outside of the bars. Yeah.

[A]

And.

[B]

But like I said, I think I was too young for a lot of the people who were commenting on it.

[A]

Yeah. They were like, Benjamin Franklin would never.

[B]

Yeah,

[A]

yeah. And then I got upset because you were getting lectured by a certain daughter of a former president. And I did a mean tweet and she found it. I didn't even at her. And so she said that I was an anti Semite. I tweeted Chelsea Clinton is even Jewish. She's just ugly. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

[B]

Is that a real tweet?

[A]

Yeah. I'm sorry, but I was upset on your behalf and people are piling on. I regret it. And I'm sorry. Jewish comedy, the basis of Jewish comedy is self deprecation.

[B]

We.

[A]

I'm just saying we're ugly.

[B]

We have that in common. Somalis are very much.

[A]

Yeah. We hate ourselves and, you know, we

[B]

don't take ourselves to seriously.

[A]

Just seeing that one voice out of the darkness.

[B]

Yeah. It encouraged other people. Yeah.

[A]

Was that. When did you know that it was gonna be like this? I suppose, like, did you. Because that was fairly early on was my. When did it dawn?

[B]

First month, third week?

[A]

First month at the job, everyone's telling you that you're Adolf Hitler or something. Did it dawn? When did it dawn on you? It's gonna be like this. Did it dawn on you then? Or was it your second month when they said you were ed on meat or something? Your third month when they said you were Pol Pot or whatever.

[B]

I mean, I don't know. I guess like when I first ran, I thought of all the horrible things that could happen, wrote a list of 10, 10 worst possibilities, and none of it has actually happened.

[A]

So what, were some of them bad? Bad ones, yeah. Really?

[B]

Yeah. I'm not gonna say it so somebody can do it to me. I'm not putting it out.

[A]

You don't want the bad guys to get any ideas. That's a good, that's smart.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, like I, you know, so I think I keep a level headedness because it's not as bad as I thought, which is kind of crazy because everybody's like, oh my God, this is horrible. And I'm like, it's really not as bad as it could be.

[A]

The strange thing to me is that Somalis are such a small ethnic minority in America and there's a fixation that's surfaced and Trump was talking about them in 2016, I believe, when he was running.

[B]

Yeah. He came to Minnesota.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And said we were there without the permission of Minnesotans and we should all get out.

[A]

You didn't ask apparently, why Minnesota? What about Arizona or something?

[B]

There are Somalis in Arizona.

[A]

Yeah. The smart ones. Why don't you go up there with the snow? This is as different as possible.

[B]

We're naturally nomads, which culturally means, you know, somebody usually goes to a place

[A]

and says, why do you nomad away from the snow?

[B]

This is a good place for people to live and raise a family. And, you know, my family was settled in Arlington, Virginia, and that's where I went to middle school. And, you know, my older siblings, realizing that I'd missed four years of schooling, really wanted a good education system for me so that I could graduate on time and, you know, not get lost in the system. And they were doing research in Minnesota at the time, had really good education system and so that's how we ended up in Minnesota. But the first family in Minnesota came from San Diego, actually.

[A]

Well, it's way nicer there in San Diego. It's fabulous.

[B]

He had a lot of kids, and the cost of living was too much.

[A]

California, don't get me started.

[B]

Yeah. So he moved to Marshall, Minnesota, where it was like he was paying 10% for rent than what he was paying in San Diego, which meant he had the freedom to start a business. And I think he's the first Somali millionaire.

[A]

I want to talk about Minneapolis. I kind of have this, like. Well, first off, I just, like, I think it's valuable to hear, like, obviously, two constituents of yours were killed, right,

[B]

By ICE and cpp.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I think, first off, like, just tell us, like, what you saw transpire in your district in your home city.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, the federal occupation of Minnesota was a little scary. We had over 4,000 ICE and CPP agents, and it was, you know, masked men patrolling the streets with machine guns, stopping cars, dragging people out of the cars, breaking windows, arresting people who were telling them that they were citizens, had their documents, they were legally in the United States. You know, obviously, they killed Renee Goode and Alex Preddy for just monitoring and documenting the. The brutality that they were witnessing. With so many people being disappeared, so many businesses being shut down, lots of empty schools, there was a third. A third of our schools had presence of children. It was very, very scary.

[A]

What's it like to be a leader of a community that's going, like, going through that?

[B]

It's terrifying, especially when you, yourself, your family members are also part of the targeted group. And so you're caring for your constituents and trying to provide as much information as you can, and chasing down people who've disappeared through a maze of a system, trying to identify where they are, where they've maybe been taken to, because they were usually disappearing people within three hours from the state. So that was very difficult for us to track people down. And then you're worried if one of your family members is going to be next.

[A]

Do you think the president watched a YouTube video and didn't realize the most Somali. The vast, vast, vast majority of Somalis are legally in Minneapolis. Are here legally.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, that was the most baffling part. Right. Because they said, what percentage of the

[A]

Somali community are legal in, like, 98% or something?

[B]

Yeah, 98. 98%. No, they said they were going through this mass deportation of Somalis, which is what Operation Metro Search was about. And, you know, to, you know, they canceled the protective temporary. They announced that they would cancel that, which they couldn't automatically cancel it because those are timed Right. And so it was for a lot of us, we were like, who is. Who are you mass deporting? Because, you know, none of us are deportable.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that was the thing that was disturbing about it, because they were going into these Somali restaurants, Somali businesses, Somali, you know, heavy neighborhoods, and they were, like, basically snatching people, only to have to let them out within few hours. And then they said, okay, so anybody who came in through a refugee status since 2021, we'll take all of them to Texas and Louisiana. We will revet them. So they did that for a little over 4,000 people, and then they had to return all of them because their vetting was.

[A]

They were here legally.

[B]

Yeah. And they already been severely vetted. That vetting, when you're leaving a refugee camp, they takes three to five years, sometimes up to 10 years. You know, they're checking your bone density. They're, you know, look, it's just. It's a very invasive vetting process. And so it was, again, just a waste of money and a way to terrorize people who were just adjusting to life in America.

[A]

I think a lot also about the. I mean, largely Latino people getting detained and disabled.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, they recently released a report. Of the 4,000 people they eventually arrested, less than 3% were Somalis.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. It just. It seems to me like an old man watched a YouTube video and then wanted to arrest a bunch of people that were here legally. And then. And then Latinos suffer the consequences, Right?

[B]

Yeah. Who come from, you know, countries that are experiencing severe vulnerability. It's our. You know, it's the Venezuelans. It's people from Ecuador, A lot of young people who fled trafficking and gang life in Ecuador being cut off.

[A]

You know, your family were lucky enough to get a visa to come here. You know, do you often think about what your life would be like had you not? When you think about that, does that give you a deeper understanding of those people?

[B]

I mean, it's hard to predict what my life would have been like. It certainly wouldn't be like what it is today. So I don't know. I can't. I can't predict the future for an Ilhan that doesn't leave that camp when I did. I've been to other refugee camps in Kenya, where I've met some kids I knew from the refugee camp I was in who are raising kids in that refugee camp.

[A]

They're still refugees.

[B]

Yeah. So they have another generation of kids that are born into a refugee camp. I don't even know what I would have been into at 12 or 15.

[A]

Do they get Baywatch?

[B]

I don't think so.

[A]

Like, when you're a kid in school, you learn about periods of history where countries that had laws started taking people from their homes and locking them in cages. You think, when you're a kid, what do you do? And I've been thinking a lot about that nowadays, and I don't know what the answer is. And so what do we do, like, about the people that are in Florida or, you know, in Texas or Louisiana that are many of them here legally, that are dying in captivity, that are not being charged with crimes. So what do we do if it's happening now?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, it's always the challenge, right? Because you can think about what you would do, but then you've got the constraints of what the legal system that you're living under. People forget that brutality is oftentimes legalized. And when people say, you know, why didn't you do this? Or why didn't, you know, these people do that? They forget that there was a whole system to make it hard for people to do anything, because then they would risk their own lives, they would risk their own captivity. And, you know, in Minneapolis, we've had people. I went to this shopping center that has housing attached to it, and I was meeting with the business association there, and one of them explained that the condos above, these businesses were choosing to allow some of the workers to stay with them so they didn't have to travel, that they, you know, they felt safe to just be able to go to work in the same building instead of being exposed to the outside environment. And so there are places like Minneapolis where people have figured out a way to keep their neighbors safe. We had soccer moms organizing pickups and drop offs for the neighborhood children. We had block watches where parents organize themselves to take shifts to alert other people when ICE or CPP would be in the neighborhood. And so there, you know, there are ways that people have figured out, but there is the risk, right? You can get killed like Renee and Alex have. And that's the choices that people have to. And it's something that people say to me all the time, like, you're an immigrant. You're risking a lot by being in the forefront of this fight. But to me, it is a choice I consciously make because I would want, if there was a member of Congress that represented me, I would want them doing everything that they could in defending me and speaking up for me and not just being worried about what happened to them, but what happened to the people that they represent. And so it's a loaded thing to think about.

[A]

But, you know, it's oftentimes we're hearing from the Democrats, like, vote for us in the midterms if you want something to happen. Yeah, right. But I mean, this was a program under Obama. You know, child separation was happening under Biden. So do you, as a member of that caucus, have faith in the party? Were you to be successful in the midterms to like close the places, shut the places down where people have been sent without due process and are dying? Is that possible?

[B]

I do believe. Right. When you think about the mass deportation program under Obama and private detention centers becoming a thing under Obama, you now see Democrats finally realizing that we cannot create systems that can be exploited by evil. To them, they thought at the time this was cost saving or it was a way to expedite or to do something in a way to reform the system. But they gave a playbook to the most evil people like Stephen Miller, who have now allowed these detention centers. And even with the first Trump administration, where people dying in there and covering up, it's normal, and sometimes being killed in these detention centers without accountability, where you can have masked agents and we're now just begging for the bare minimum of like, can you go back to what is actually legal required for you to do? And so I do see now when Democrats say put us back in charge, that it is about reining this in. It is about recognizing that we've allowed for a system that could be abusive to be abusive. And we have Republicans right now who are in charge who are refusing to exercise any of the checks and balances that are within their purview. And so Democrats are not asking for much. All they're asking for is allow us to at least have a check and balance. Which, you know, at this moment, I think it's a huge selling point because it just feels like we are living with a one man rule and that's not, you know, what America is supposed to be.

[A]

Uh huh. I guess I'll close with this one last thing.

[B]

All right, I know that answer. Like it's not the most satisfying thing, but you know, with the.

[A]

A lot of them, a lot of your boys suck, don't they?

[B]

But it's just, it's like, it's, yeah, we can't pass these great policies because obviously we have Trump for president in the next two years, even if we were to win the majority. But what we can do is make it difficult for him to have this one man Rule.

[A]

Have you met him?

[B]

No.

[A]

No, no. What do you say to him if you meet him?

[B]

I'm not sure. It changes by the day.

[A]

What would you say? Just right now? What are you feeling right now? Let's say I'm Trump. Hey, what's up? I'm Trump. I've been telling people to kill you.

[B]

Yeah, I might actually curse him out in person.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

At this moment.

[A]

Say the cusses.

[B]

I'm not gonna.

[A]

We'll beep them.

[B]

No, it's okay.

[A]

All right, we'll cut it. Just say the cusses. Congresswoman, Just say the. I've never heard. We don't. We. We don't allow cussing on the show. But this is one time I think we can make an exception. Let's hear those cusses. All right. You sharing your story. I think you are kind of an example of what is great about America. You can make a success of yourself. You could go to college at the Mall of America. How did you find out that the college at the Mall of America wasn't on the up and up? Were you at a sorority?

[B]

No.

[A]

I heard that you rushed Victoria's Secret, but you got into Hot. You got into Hot Topic. You were with the weird girls. The weird girl sorority.

[B]

Absolutely not.

[A]

Yeah, me and the brothers at Hollister, we were doing beer bongs. You went to college at a mall?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You might be the first in Congress. Mall college

[B]

called the National American University. It was one of those, you know, exploitive.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Jared Kushner owned a lot of schools, and they.

[A]

Kushner, Wyckoff got this, you think, in Pakistan.

[B]

It's quite possible.

[A]

I think they got this.

[B]

I don't think so. No. No. I have no. No faith. But it was, it was one of those, like, schools where they, you know, preyed on immigrants. First time? Yeah, first time college. You know, like, you be the first one to go to college in your family. Did you live on campus or veterans? No. No. And that was the selling. That was the selling point because it was like they had this jingle. It was like one night, one day. Saturday's all right.

[A]

How did you not know that this place was on the up and up? They have an amusement park.

[B]

Yeah, but I, I, I worked at the mall. I could go do my leather limited.

[A]

Where?

[B]

Leather limited.

[A]

What is that? That sounds hoardy.

[B]

It was a.

[A]

That sounds haram to me.

[B]

No, it was. It was a leather. It was a leather jacket store.

[A]

Oh, nice.

[B]

Leather jackets and bags and purses.

[A]

Nice. You got an employee discount still or No, I did.

[B]

And I bought my dad, like a lot of leather stuff.

[A]

A full. Like, Harley had one of the leather

[B]

jackets with the fur. The winter leather jacket with the fur.

[A]

Daddy.

[B]

Yeah. And I got him like a. A suitcase for him to.

[A]

Is he's proud of you?

[B]

My. My dad passed away. He was very proud.

[A]

Was he proud of you? Was he proud of you?

[B]

Yes. Yes. He was very proud.

[A]

I like the section of your book where he said that it's political science is a stupid.

[B]

That was my grandpa.

[A]

Was that your grandpa?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Sorry.

[B]

My grandfather was like, politics is something you do. It is not something you study.

[A]

He's right. It's stupid. I studied it too. What a waste.

[B]

I agree. I don't think I would like.

[A]

What am I doing with it?

[B]

One of my kids actually study polycycles.

[A]

No, it's moronic. Yeah, just do it.

[B]

Just do it.

[A]

I have some beakers and Bunsens.

[B]

The science is in the action of doing politics. But I eventually graduated from a school called ndsu.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In Fargo, North Dakota.

[A]

Yeah. Carson Wentz.

[B]

No, Bison.

[A]

Carson Wentz.

[B]

Oh, yeah,

[A]

whatever.

[B]

They had a great football team.

[A]

Were you there with Carson Wentz?

[B]

I mean, you. Yeah. You know, I wasn't hanging out with footballers.

[A]

No. You're with the nutrition club.

[B]

Yeah. I also had two young kids to take care of. I didn't really do much hanging out in college because I was a young mom.

[A]

So you would bring your kids to the.

[B]

Yeah, I was in a lot of clubs and would bring them with me.

[A]

You take them to the club.

[B]

Oh, like student clubs.

[A]

You would go to the club with your kids? This. She's out of control. Wait till Tucker gets away. Someone said something to me. I spoke to people that know you, okay. And someone said something to me that's stuck with me, okay? And granted, I did this five months ago.

[B]

And then two blue guys finding these people that know me.

[A]

Who.

[B]

Where are you people finding these people who know me?

[A]

My APAC guys got me a couple contacts.

[B]

I don't think those people know me.

[A]

Someone that knows you has said to me that every day for you is lived truly. Not in like a self help book way, but truly, like, it could be your last. And that stuck with me.

[B]

Who's this person? I mean, I think we should. I don't know if that's such a great. You know, I think we should all live every day as if, you know, might be our last day. Just.

[A]

But not all of us are. Not all of our interns have to go to therapy because they're picking up the phone all day to like, yeah,

[B]

I don't go to therapy. I don't go to therapy. I don't know.

[A]

No, your interns.

[B]

I don't think so.

[A]

You gotta send them to therapy, I'll tell you that.

[B]

No, I mean, I imagine what they're hearing. I have staff that have been. Majority of my staff has been with me since I'd gotten to Congress.

[A]

You're such an immigrant mom.

[B]

And therapy is.

[A]

You're. You're anti therapy.

[B]

I am not, but I'm. What I am saying. What I am saying is that I have people who naturally are like, this is crazy. And I'm not gonna let it. Like, I'm not going to internalize any of this stuff. And we mainly feel bad for the crazy people who call into our office and spend that much time thinking about us. So, you know, I don't. I like to believe. Just like me, everyone in my office is just like, these people are crazy. Like, I don't. I don't think they take it home with them because if they did, I think a lot of them would have, like, left the office. And we rarely have people who quit our office.

[A]

I think it's. If you'll allow me, I think it's just really great to see an example. It's a shitty time of one person who, despite all this, is just like, fuck you. I have every right to be here as much as you do. And I don't think that. I mean, I think it's a testament to your resilience and I genuinely. Me going through that. Adam Friedland is. We should. I want to send him to Guantanamo. What the hell.

[B]

What would you have done if the. If the President every day was.

[A]

I would have laughed at all his jokes.

[B]

Okay, there you go.

[A]

Yeah. That's what you do when you have a boss that's. That's an asshole. But not very smart. You say that. That was hilarious, sir. Yeah. I would have gotten away with doing no work for 40 years at the.

[B]

I mean, if he was saying the stuff he says, like, about me, about

[A]

you, I would have. I don't know, it wouldn't just be

[B]

like, okay, this man is crazy.

[A]

No, I think it's really important for someone to say, I have every right to be here. You know, what's he gonna do? He's gonna drive these. These nutso's nuts, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Someone called me after Kirk.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they said, do you have security? I'm like, what does this have to do with me? Me for Charlie. If someone did that for Charlie, I was the me.

[B]

Yeah. Do you do one of those like come debate me things?

[A]

No, I don't want to talk to kids. They're terrible. What does he yell? He yells at yelled at babies. The best. We'll cut that. I really appreciate your time. I've been really excited about this one.

[B]

Likewise.

[A]

Did you have fun?

[B]

I did okay.

[A]

We're going to do another cooking demonstration.

[B]

And the tea turned out great if I say so myself.

[A]

Okay, well, you were complaining about the cloves.

[B]

They turned out okay. A little tangy because we didn't get to crush them.

[A]

Oh my God. Oh my God. You can't wait with her. Guys. Ilhan Omar. It's been a pleasure. I hope you enjoyed it.

[B]

I did.

[A]

Yeah. It's better than Hassan.

[B]

Is there a competition? Sam.