Trump's Monday Speech Notes Included Omar Talking Points, Phonetic Spelling of Al Qaeda As 'Alcaida'

President Donald Trump arrived to deliver his speech at Monday's "Made in America" event with printed notes, not on U.S. manufacturing but on talking points related to Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, with keywords underlined in black and al Qaeda apparently spelled phonetically as "Alcaida."

Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford captured images of the notes as Trump folded up the piece of paper after his speech, before walking away from the podium.

"This is the greatest country in the world," the notes read. "In the case of Omar, we saved her from a dangerous situation in Somalia."

@realDonaldTrump notes today on @AOC and @IlhanMN flipped and rotated #for your viewing pleasure. pic.twitter.com/42sdbsRivQ

— Jabin Botsford (@jabinbotsford) July 15, 2019

"She came here at 10 years old and is now a congresswoman. That could ONLY happen in America," the notes continued. "It is SAD that these women have a record of saying anti-Semitic and anti-American things all the time."

"It's actually DANGEROUS — because it seems like they hate America," it read. "My point was if you are not happy here, you can leave."

"Alcaida some people" was also handwritten in black ink at the right-hand top corner of the page.

Trump's speech at Monday's event came one day after he unleashed a series of tweets, where he urged four progressive Democratic congresswomen — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Omar — all women of color, to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." Although the president did not specifically name the freshman Democrats, most agree that his remarks were directed at the four members of the so-called "Squad."

Despite Trump's claims that they were foreign-born, only Omar was born outside the U.S. She became a U.S. citizen at age 17.

Following widespread condemnation by Democrats over his tweet, Trump aggressively defended his remarks during his speech on Monday and falsely accused Omar of supporting al Qaeda.

"You can leave, you can leave right now. Come back if you like. Don't come back. It's okay too. But if you're not happy, you can leave," the president said, referring to members of the "Squad." "I'm very unhappy. I'm watching them. All they do is complain. All I'm saying is, if they wanna leave, they can leave."

"I look at Omar, I don't know I've never met her, I hear her talk about al Qaeda. Al Qaeda's killed many Americans. She said, 'you can hold their chest out, you can -- When I think of America, huh. When I think of al Qaeda, I can hold my chest out,'" Trump continued. "When she talked about the World Trade Center being knocked down. 'Some people.' You remember the famous, 'some people'?"

"These are people that hate our country," Trump added. "Now, you can say what you want but get a list of all of the statements that they've said. All I'm saying is if they're not happy here, they can leave."

Trump speech notes Monday
U.S. President Donald Trump puts away his notes after addressing his Made In America product showcase at the White House July 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla

Editor's Picks

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Unlimited access to Newsweek.com
  • Ad free Newsweek.com experience
  • iOS and Android app access
  • All newsletters + podcasts
Newsweek cover
  • Unlimited access to Newsweek.com
  • Ad free Newsweek.com experience
  • iOS and Android app access
  • All newsletters + podcasts