Thursday at her weekly press conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to say Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should apologize for her controversial remarks about Israel.

When asked if Omar should apologize, Pelosi said, “It’s up to her to explain. I do not believe she understood the full weight of the words.”

She continued, “When you’re a congressman you are an advocate out there, who I was. I appreciate all the enthusiasm. I told you that before. That was me pushing a stroller and carrying those signs. I understand how advocates come in with their enthusiasms. But when you cross that threshold in the Congress, your words weigh much more than when you’re shouting at somebody outside. And I feel confident that her words were not based on any antisemitic attitude. But that she didn’t have a full appreciation of how they landed on other people where these words have a history and a cultural impact that might have been unknown to her.”

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