Republican Lawmaker Calls Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Zohran Mamdani 'Muslim Terrorists' – Will He Be Censured?
I reached out to every Democrat who voted to censure Tlaib in 2023. Here’s what they said about Randy Fine’s vicious, Islamophobic comments.
“Muslim terrorists.”
That’s what newly elected Republican congressman Randy Fine called Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), as well as New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
The first instance came in response to Omar’s tweet on Tuesday:
“This is Benjamin Netanyahu’s third visit to DC this year.
War criminals should not be welcomed by any president or Congress.
He should be held accountable for his crimes, not platformed. Beyond shameful.”
Fine, who represents Florida, responded by saying:
“I'm sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists.
The only shame is that you serve in Congress.”
The comments sparked a rare condemnation from House Democratic leadership – Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Katherine Clark (Mass.), and Pete Aguilar (Calif.) called on Fine to apologize.
And Fine, who refers to himself as the “Hebrew Hammer,” has only doubled down since.
“The Hamas Caucus is upset. Boo hoo. I guess they weren't listening when I said the Hebrew Hammer was coming,” Fine said in response to the condemnation.
Fine then complained about Jeffries having “no issues” with Omar calling Netanyahu (who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges) a war criminal, but taking issue with Fine for his comments.
Fine’s comments come after a man shot two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses, killing one lawmaker, her husband, and their dog. The man allegedly had a longer hit list that included Omar.
Later, Fine claimed that “Jihadi Jeffries and his Hamas Caucus” were trying to distract from an alleged increase in violence against ICE agents (who are currently pursuing a mass shadowy operation of sweeping Americans off the streets with no due process).
Will Fine Be Censured?
Fine has continued his vicious screed against his colleagues, with no pushback from his fellow Republicans (who have been very concerned with “civility”). He has also met relatively little material pushback from the rest of the political apparatus.
Consider November 2023, and the entire media and political ecosystem frenzy to punish Rep. Rashida Tlaib – the only Palestinian member of Congress – for using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” a call for Palestinian freedom and liberation from Israel’s illegal and violent occupation.
As a result, Tlaib was indeed censured – with these 22 Democrats joining Republicans to do so:
Steve Cohen (Tenn.)
Jim Costa (Calif.)
Angie Craig (Minn.)
Don Davis (N.C.)
Lois Frankel (Fla.)
Jared Golden (Maine)
Dan Goldman (N.Y.)
Josh Gottheimer (N.J.)
Greg Landsman (Ohio)
Susie Lee (Nev.)
Jared Moskowitz (Fla.)
Chris Pappas (N.H.)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.)
Pat Ryan (N.Y.)
Brad Schneider (Ill.)
Kim Schrier (Wash.)
Darren Soto (Fla.)
Ritchie Torres (N.Y.)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.)
Frederica Wilson (Fla.)
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Tlaib was punished for calling for her people’s safety.
This time around, Fine is smearing and vilifying his own colleagues and making broad, violent statements about an entire religion. And while Fine’s comments about Omar have drawn much attention, other comments (let alone from the past) have gotten relatively little attention.
For example, this week, Fine also referred to Rep. Tlaib and Democratic nominee for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani as “Muslim terrorists,” too.
While some Democrats, alongside leadership, have issued sharp rebukes of Fine’s comments, few – Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari – have publicly called for his censure.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has not responded to questions about whether leadership may move to censure Fine.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who once wanted his colleagues to sign a “civility pledge” with him, did not respond to similar questions.
I reached out to the 20 Democrats who signed onto that resolution who are still in Congress, about Fine’s comments.
Only three responded.
When asked if they would support or introduce a censure resolution against Rep. Fine:
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres said: “I would support it.”
New York Rep. Pat Ryan went further, saying: “Congressman Fine’s comments are disgusting and bigoted — he deserves to be censured for his Islamophobic remarks.”
New York Rep. Dan Goldman added to the pile, noting Johnson’s supposed commitment towards civility, as well as the recent attack in Minnesota. "Congressman Fine's racist bigotry towards a colleague is patently unacceptable and warrants censure by the House,” he said. “If Speaker Johnson truly wants to lower the temperature, as he claims, then he must publicly condemn this rhetoric that further fans the flames of political violence plaguing this country, including recently in Minnesota.”
Importantly, the stark difference between how much of the media and political apparatus (namely, Republicans and moderate Democrats) were willing to censure Tlaib, and not Fine, is not just about hypocrisy or consistency.
Because, on one hand, Tlaib was punished for warning of the mass suffering that would come to her people, and pleading for the government she is part of not to be complicit in it.
She wasn’t listened to. And then 2 million of her people were displaced. More than 50,000 were murdered.
On the other hand, Fine has thus far been unpunished by the same people who castigated Tlaib, while he has vilified an entire religion and demonized his colleagues – all under the flag of cheering for that same genocidal violence that has afflicted the people Tlaib was trying to defend.
The unequal treatment is doubly so, given that one member’s humanity is punished while another’s inhumanity is tolerated, even celebrated.
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Never mind censure. Rep. Fine's statements are an actual threat to another human being. Charge him, convict him, lock him up. This is what it will take to wipe the smug smirks off the faces of malevolent, malicious, reckless GOP politicians like Fine. They have become the terrorists inside the house broadly and inside the House specifically. He is a disgrace to Congress, to his constituents, to America. Were he an immigrant, Lady Liberty would not welcome him to her shores. May his memory be a shame to his kin.
Why do Americans vote for a hateful little man like Randy Fine? The things he has tweeted are horrific. The way he speaks to his own constituents is abhorrent. Zionists must go the way of the Dodo if we are to have a happy world. Their hatred has no place in civilized society.