White House stands by Donald Trump's comments against Ilhan Omar

Washington: While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered a safety review for Muslim Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar and her family Sunday after accusing President Donald Trump of putting her in danger by tweeting a video of her spliced with footage of the 9/11 attacks, the White House defended Trump's actions.

Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, defended the president on Sunday against accusations that he was inciting violence toward Omar. Omar has been at the centre of an escalating row after a clip emerged of her characterising the deadliest attack on US soil as "some people did something."

On Friday, Trump tweeted a video that juxtaposed the snippet, which Omar's fellow Democrats say was taken out of context, with images of the hijacked planes used in the attacks crashing into the Twin Towers that once dominated New York's skyline. The clip, which had been viewed more than 9.4 million times as of Sunday afternoon, ends with the words: "SEPTEMBER 11 2001 WE REMEMBER." Sanders defended Trump, telling ABC television's "This Week" that "the president is wishing no ill will and certainly not violence towards anyone."

But, she added: "It's absolutely abhorrent the comments she continues to make and has made and (Democrats) look the other way. I find her comments to be absolutely disgraceful and unbefitting of a member of Congress and I think that it's a good thing that the president is calling her out for those comments."

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates