Rep-Ilhan Omar is facing a wave of online mockery following a verbal slip-up during a recent press conference.
While discussing global conflict and historical military interventions, the Minnesota Congresswoman accidentally referred to the second global conflict as “World War 11” (eleven) rather than World War II.
The gaffe occurred as Omar was critiquing current foreign policy. Critics quickly seized on the moment with many taking to social media to question her historical knowledge.
During the speech, Omar stated, “We must remember the lessons learned from the devastation of World War 11,” seemingly reading the Roman numerals “II” as the number eleven.
She continued her point without immediate correction saying, “History shows us that unchecked escalation leads to the kind of ruin we saw during World War 11.”
While supporters argued it was a simple “brain fart” or a visual misreading of a teleprompter, political opponents have used the clip to brand her as out of touch.
Commentators like Natalie Winters weighed in remarking that the mistake “shows these people don’t understand geopolitical world affairs or frankly history for that matter.”
Despite the backlash, Omar’s office has not issued a formal statement regarding the viral “World War 11” comment.
