Dr. Phil McGraw unleashed a verbal smackdown on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for her relentless critiques of the United States, calling her words “absolutely disgusting," according to The New York Post.
McGraw’s fiery response came after Omar’s June 2025 remarks comparing America to a dictatorship, sparked by a military parade and her broader disdain for U.S. policies.
In a Democracy Now! interview, Omar described America as morphing into “one of the worst countries,” with soldiers trampling constitutional rights.
Her words paint a nation in decline, ignoring the freedoms that allowed her to rise from refugee to congresswoman. A bit rich, considering her journey.
Omar zeroed in on President Trump’s June 14, 2025, military parade, a spectacle marking the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 79th birthday. She called it a dictator’s vanity project, costing millions to prop up a faltering ego. The parade, however, was a patriotic nod to military heritage, not a one-man show.
“Our president is spending millions [propping] himself up like a failed dictator,” Omar sneered. Her rhetoric dismisses the event’s historical significance, framing it as a power grab. Yet, celebrations of national pride aren’t exactly rare in democracies.
McGraw, fresh from attending Trump’s National Day of Prayer event at the White House, didn’t hold back. He suggested Omar might prefer Somalia, her birthplace, if America’s so awful. A stinging jab, but it underscores her apparent ingratitude.
“Somalia is the second most corrupt country in the world,” McGraw declared, listing its woes: famine, tribal violence, and a life expectancy 30 years below the global average. He noted 99.2% of Somali women endure female genital mutilation, per 2022 reports. Omar’s silence on these horrors feels selective.
McGraw highlighted Somalia’s child soldiers, recruited through abduction and indoctrination by warlords. Adult literacy languishes below 40%, and religious minorities face persecution. America, by contrast, gave Omar a platform to thrive.
“In America, she rose from refugee to congresswoman,” McGraw said, marveling at her ascent. Yet Omar’s gratitude seems in short supply, replaced by a litany of complaints about her adopted home.
Omar’s latest remarks aren’t her first swipe at the U.S. In 2019, she declared, “This is not going to be the country of White people.” The statement, divisive and racially charged, alienated many who see America as a melting pot.
In 2020, Omar called for dismantling “the whole system of oppression.” McGraw retorted that this “oppressive” system granted her entitlements and a congressional seat. Her rhetoric ignores the opportunities she’s leveraged.
In June 2021, Omar equated the U.S. and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban, accusing them of “unthinkable atrocities.” Such comparisons blur moral lines, equating democracies with terror groups. It’s a false equivalence that fuels division.
McGraw didn’t deny Omar’s right to speak, conceding, “She has the right to say what she’s saying.” But he added, “I have the right to say, ‘It’s disgusting.’” His candor defends free speech while calling out her hypocrisy.
Omar’s dictatorship analogy, rooted in her Somali childhood, exaggerates America’s flaws. “This is not the country our Founding Fathers imagined,” she claimed, urging street protests. Her alarmism overlooks the Constitution’s enduring strength.
McGraw’s critique resonates with those tired of anti-American tropes. Omar’s rise proves America’s promise, yet her words tear it down. If she finds the U.S. so flawed, McGraw’s Somalia suggestion, though sharp, invites reflection.
