MSNBC host defends Rep. Omar's US-Hamas tweet: 'Our nation has done some pretty awful things abroad'

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Media top headlines June 14

MSNBC’s Joy Reid getting slammed for claiming students learn ‘Confederate Race Theory,’ an NPR TV critic doubling down on an op-ed urging Tom Hanks to be ‘anti-racist,’ and Biden muttering that he’ll get into trouble with his staff round out today’s top media headlines

MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan dedicated a self-described rant on Sunday to defending Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after she received backlash for grouping U.S. and Israeli "war crimes" with aggressions by terror groups like Hamas and the Taliban.

"We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity," Omar tweeted last week. "We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban." 

After both Republicans and Democrats condemned Omar's message, with a group of House Democrats calling it "offensive and misguided," she issued a clarification insisting she was "in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems." 

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Hasan jumped to Omar's side to defend her controversial tweet. He launched into a "60-second rant" applauding her message and sounded off on U.S. "war crimes."

"Look, Americans get very upset when our nation is accused of war crimes, but I'm sorry to break this to you, our nation has done some pretty awful things abroad and we have to be able to talk about them," he said on Sunday.

Hasan listed the No Gun Ri massacre during the Korean War and the bombing of civilians in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia as examples of U.S. war crimes as he supported Omar's comments.

"In my opinion, we don’t prosecute enough war criminals in this country," Hasan said.

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"This isn't about saying the United States is as bad as the Taliban – of course it isn't – it's about saying war crimes should be condemned and prosecuted regardless of who commits them," he added.

Hasan wasn't the only MSNBC personality to defend Omar.

"If you have a problem with the grouping of these entities together — you should turn your ire towards whatever it is the U.S. has done to put us in that category," MSNBC host Chris Hayes said. "And not on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for pointing it out."

MSNBC opinion columnist Hayes Brown suggested Friday that Omar was the victim in a piece headlined, "Ilhan Omar was attacked for saying war crimes allegations should be investigated."

"Let me say this up front and in no uncertain terms: Ilhan Omar was right. Any headline you see that says otherwise — that her comments this week were antisemitic or promoted hate toward Israel, that she sympathized with or gave cover to terrorists — is accepting a bad faith attack as a truth," Brown wrote.

But conservative political leaders maintain that Omar's comparison was over the line. 

"Absolutely disgusting," Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., called her remarks.

"Let me be clear: The Taliban and Hamas deliberately kill innocent civilians, the U.S. and Israel protect civilians," former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley tweeted.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said he saw a tentative upside to Omar's remarks, in that she at least admitted that Hamas and the Taliban "are bad."

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"Maybe one day she'll even believe America is good," he added.