Representative Ilhan Omar has suggested Barack Obama is a “pretty face” who “got away with murder”.

The Minnesota Democrat implied the former president’s “hope and change” message was an illusion – saying his immigration policies involved detaining children at the southern border and pointing to his repeated use of lethal drone strikes overseas.

“We can’t be only upset with Trump. … His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than he was,” Ms Omar told Politico.

“And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognise the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.”

She criticised Mr Obama for the “caging of kids” and “droning of countries around the world.”

US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Show all 20 1 /20 US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic candidate Ilhan Omar is celebrates with her husband's mother after she won a congress place, becoming the first Muslim woman to be elected into congress alongside Rashida Tlaib Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic House candidate, from Kansas, Sharice Davids (left) and her mom Crystal celebrate after she won. Davids is the first lesbian Native American Congresswoman by beating Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder. Davids is one of several first-time female candidates that helped the Democratic Party takeover in the House of Representatives EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Marsha Blackburn celebrates after winning the race for senate in Tennessee. In doing so she became that state’s first female senator AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Ayanna Pressley beaome Massachusetts’ first black congresswoman by defeating 10-term Republican Michael Capuano AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican candidate Young Kim has become the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Jared Polis won his seat and became the US’s first ever openly gay governor AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Jean Kasselman (left) and Teresa Booker, supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids, react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Kristi Noem hugs a supporter after being announced as the new governor of South Dakota. Noem made history by being the first female governor of the state AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Gabierla Martinez and Cesar Delgado cheer on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest women ever elected to Congress, representing New York’s 14th congressional district AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic congressional candidate Rashida Tlaib celebrates with family and friends at her midterm election night party in Detroit after won and also became the nation’s first Muslim woman to congress alongside Ilhan Omar who was also elected Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Already having become the first Native American woman to chair a state political party, Deb Haaland has now become the joint-first Native American woman to be elected to congress, alongside Sharice Davids Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer during her election night party in the Queens Borough AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Young Kim hugs her son Alvin after she won a seat in congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer AFP/Getty Images US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Asma Mohammed and Ashley Fairbanks celebrate as results come in at Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar's election night headquarters AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Deb Haaland hugs a voter REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate from Kansas Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won her race EPA

The article characterised her description of the former Democrat president’s policies as operating within the same “fundamentally broken framework” as Mr Trump. But Ms Omar did not refer to Mr Obama by name in that part of the published piece.

Ms Omar has now insisted her comments were “distorted” and that she is definitely a “fan” of the former Democratic leader in a tweet posted on Friday which appears to have now been deleted.

“Exhibit A of how reporters distort words,” she tweeted. “I’m an Obama fan! I was saying how Trump is different from Obama, and why we should focus on policy not politics. This is why I always tape my interviews.“

She also tweeted an audio file that included fuller comments on the Obama policy issues that she referenced – including her differentiating between the ways in which Mr Obama and Mr Trump instigated those policies.

“For many of us, we think of ourselves as Democrats, but many of the ways that our Democratic leaders have conducted themselves within the system is not one that we’re all proud of,” she said in the clip.

“I will talk about the family separation or caging of kids and people will point out that this was Trump, I mean, this was Obama.

“And I will say something about the droning of countries around the world and people will say, that was Obama. And all of that is very true. What is happening now is very different - it’s happening with secrecy, it’s happening with the feel good, polished way of talking about it.”

Ms Omar, who is the first Somali-American to be elected to legislative office in the US, has been plagued by controversy over statements she made regarding Israel and pro-Israel groups that some perceived to be antisemitic.

A House resolution in response to her remarks divided the Democratic caucus, with some members striving to call her out by name while others successfully pushed for language denouncing a wide range of discrimination.

The resolution, which was passed on Thursday, did not name Ms Omar. It made several mentions of antisemitism, but also hit out at other manifestations of hate such as Islamophobia.

Prominent progressives including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have come to Ms Omar’s defence in the wake of the controversy.

Mr Sanders, who is Jewish, said that he believes the attacks on Ms Omar are aimed at silencing discussion of American foreign policy with regards to Israel.

“What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate,” Mr Sanders, who is top Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement. “That’s wrong.”

Ms Ocasio-Cortez claimed the attacks on Ms Omar illustrated the hypocrisy in Congress surrounding questions of racism or antisemitism.

“One of the things that is hurtful about the extent to which reprimand is sought of Ilhan is that no one seeks this level of reprimand when members make statements about Latinx + other communities (during the shutdown, a GOP member yelled ‘Go back to Puerto Rico!’ on the floor),” Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

She continued: “It’s not my position to tell people how to feel, or that their hurt is invalid.