Boebert, Omar in phone call fail to resolve differences after Boebert's video comment

Reps. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, and Lauren Boebert, a Republican, failed Monday in a phone call to resolve their differences about an Islamophobic remark Boebert made about Omar.

The lawmakers each issued a statement after the phone call making clear that neither found the conversation to be helpful in settling their differences, according to The Hill newspaper.

Boebert called Omar, who is Muslim, after making a public apology for the remark.

"Today, I graciously accepted a call from Rep. Lauren Boebert in the hope of receiving a direct apology for falsely claiming she met me in an elevator, suggesting I was a terrorist, and for a history of anti-Muslim hate. Instead of apologizing for her Islamophobic comments and fabricated lies, Rep. Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments," Omar said in a statement.

"She instead doubled down on her rhetoric and I decided to end the unproductive call," Omar continued. "I believe in engaging with those we disagree with respectfully, but not when that disagreement is rooted in outright bigotry and hate."

The fallout started over the Thanksgiving weekend when a video surfaced of Boebert saying that she and a staffer were getting on a Capitol elevator when she saw a police officer racing toward them.

In the video, Boebert said she then noticed Omar standing nearby and said, "Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine,” and "Oh look, the 'Jihad Squad' decided to show up for work today."

In an Instagram post Monday after the call, Boebert, expressed frustration about Omar apparently feeling the initial public apology "wasn't good enough."

"I wanted to let her know directly that I had reflected on my previous remarks. Now, as a strong Christian woman who values faith deeply, I never want anything I say to offend someone's religion," Boebert says in the post. "So I told her that. Even after I put out a public statement to that effect. She said that she still wanted a public apology because what I had done wasn't good enough.

Boebert also pointed to Omar's criticisms of Israel and calls to dismantle the Minneapolis police department after George Floyd was killed by an officer.

"She kept asking for a public apology," she said. "So I told Ilhan Omar that she should make a public apology to the American people for her anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-police rhetoric. She continued to press, and I continued to press back. And then, Rep. Omar hung up on me. Rejecting an apology and hanging up on someone is part of cancel culture 101 and a pillar of the Democrat Party."

Boebert also suggested Omar sympathizes with terrorists.

"Make no mistake, I will continue to fearlessly put America first, never sympathizing with terrorists. Unfortunately, Ilhan can't say the same thing. And our country is worse off for it," she said.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says he spoke with Boebert on Friday and that she had apologized for her comments, The Hill also reports.

It’s unclear whether leaders of the Democrat-controlled will attempt to take action against Boebert in response to her comments.