Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) apology for comments about a pro-Israel lobbying group were “appropriate” enough for at least one Republican.
Breaking with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s assessment of Omar’s remorse, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) told CNN on Wednesday that the freshman congresswoman’s response to backlash and accusations of anti-Semitism was “entirely appropriate.”
“I do accept Rep. Omar’s apology, and I think it’s entirely appropriate,” he said. “She’s a brand-new, freshman representative. Sometimes, you get out there and you say things and then you try to correct it. For any of us that are on television, like right now, you get questions, you make responses or you put out a tweet trying to be funny or to try to press a point, and sometimes you go over the line.”
After Trump suggested on Wednesday that Omar should resign over her tweet — where she appeared to perpetuate an anti-Semitic trope when she suggested that Republicans’ support for Israel was fueled by political donations — Pence chimed in, labeling her apology “inadequate.”
Some Republicans, reportedly including Pence, have sought to have her removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
GOP senator says Omar's apology was "entirely appropriate" pic.twitter.com/hcBTeHlQPG
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 13, 2019
I have to wonder what personal gaffe he’s getting out in front of. If not, good on him.
Lankford more and more strikes me as one of the few republicans with some actual decency. (He either is or is really good a faking it, not sure there is much difference…) The comparison with Inhoff is rather profound. His name pops up more and more with compromise positions. He is clearly smart, and is one of the few, wise republicans who appears to be proactively positioning themselves for the post-Trump world.
One could also look at this as “rats leaving the ship” but these type of breaks with Trump, are getting more regular,and by more people. There is a lot of unease, particularly in the Senate. Thinking hopefully, this is what began to happen in 1974 with Nixon, people who had formerly been 100% behind him, started going after him over little things, it then snowballed.
A modern Dixie Republican with empathy. Who woulda thunk?
He’s trying to de-escalate this for Trump and Pence, knowing they lack the moral courage to apologize and realizing this is blowing back in their faces. It’s called saving Representative King. But good for him because he is right.
I think accepting an apology is just good, sensible optics. It reinforces that a Democrat did a bad thing, while looking magnanimous and gracious and above the fray. Acting like an adult.
It’s the sort of thing you’d expect a politician to say, whether or not he actually felt that way, in an era before Gingrich.