Rep. Ilhan Omar’s remarks made last month in which she described the 9/11 attackers as "some people who did something" has inflamed a new round of heated rhetoric between the Democrats and President Trump surrounding the first-year Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota.

The president drew more attention to the issue with a tweet last Friday highlighting portions of Omar’s comments alongside video of the 9/11 attacks.

Tuesday, On Point, we took a closer look at the escalating tension and war of words between President Trump and Rep. Omar.

Reps. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Andy Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, joined the show in defense of Omar.

Interview Highlights

On President Trump's tweet

Pressley: "This is a very predictable play on his part, to take tragedy and real lives and use them as a pawn to advance a larger political narrative and political goal. This is a sitting member of Congress, and this was just unconscionable and highly inappropriate and triggering for those who lost loved ones in 9/11, that tragic terrorism on American soil."

Levin: "I was just driving between events in my district, and I had to call in. I was so concerned by the opening of your discussion as if — 'Oh, it's another controversy and the president disagrees with someone.' I find that this is a mischaracterization. We've got the commander in chief attacking the safety of a public official and fanning the flames of white supremacy, where he is endangering Rep. Omar, and her staff, and also Muslim Americans and other people who look different. This is not about any argument. This is not about any policy position. This is about a level of the use of power and dividing people that goes beyond what we're used to in our democracy."