Republican Sen. Rand Paul is offering to buy Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar a plane ticket to visit her home country of Somalia to learn to be more grateful for living in the United States.

Omar is one of four congresswomen — known as "The Squad" — who President Donald Trump told to “go back" to their ancestors' countries instead of criticizing U.S. policies.

A few days later, Trump held a campaign rally in North Carolina where the crowd chanted "send her back" when the president spoke of Omar, a Somalian refugee who came to the U.S. as a child.

Trump condemned the chant when later asked by reporters but then called those who attended the rally "patriots" in subsequent comments.

"I'm not saying we forcibly send her anywhere," Paul said in an interview last week with Breitbart News, a conservative-leaning outlet. "I’m willing to contribute to buy her a ticket to go visit Somalia. I think she can look and maybe learn a little bit about the disaster that is Somalia."

More:Rand Paul's offer to send Rep. Ilhan Omar to Somalia was patronizing and un-American

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The Kentucky Republican then criticized the East African country for having "no capitalism" or "God-given rights" under a constitution. He said Omar "might come back and appreciate America more" after visiting Somalia.

An Omar spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But her campaign account did retweet messages criticizing Paul, including comedian Tom Arnold who made fun of the senator being assaulted by his neighbor in 2017.

Paul's comments did draw a rebuke from a member of Kentucky's federal delegation, Rep. John Yarmuth, who defended his Democratic colleague on Monday.

"Continued efforts to paint Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as anything less than a proud American are offensive to say the least," Yarmuth, chairman of the House Budget Committee, told the Courier Journal. "It’s safe to say that Ilhan understands Somalia a lot better than Rand, and he’d be better suited just keeping quiet than making foolish and condescending remarks like this one."

Omar, who emigrated to the U.S. in 1992, said in a recent op-ed to the New York Times that the "send her back" chant "will be a defining moment in American history." She added that this marks a "fight for the soul of our nation."

“Throughout history, demagogues have used state power to target minority communities and political enemies, often culminating in state violence,” Omar said in the op-ed. "Today, we face that threat in our own country, where the president of the United States is using the influence of our highest office to mount racist attacks on communities across the land.”

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Paul, who ran against Trump for president in 2016, has defended the president against charges of racism in the past.

A year ago, when Trump reportedly referred to African nations as "s---hole countries" Kentucky's junior senator said the comments weren't constructive, but that it was "unfair" to label the president a racist.

Paul has a budding relationship with the president and was recently tapped to help with negotiations with Iran. He has defended Trump over the tweets aimed at the congresswomen, which include Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York; Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts; and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

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The senator told Breitbart that in the city of Bowling Green, where he lives, there are many immigrants and refugees who are great citizens, but that those people are thankful to be in America.

"Then I hear Rep. Omar say, 'Oh, America is a terrible place, there is no justice here,'" Paul said. “Well, she came here and we fed her, we clothed her, she got welfare, she got school, she got healthcare, and then, lo and behold, she has the honor of actually winning a seat in Congress, and she says we’re a terrible country? I think that’s about as ungrateful as you can get."

Sergio Gor, a spokesman in the senator's office, declined to comment for this story.

Some of Paul's supporters contacted the Courier Journal to cheer the senator's remarks aimed at Omar. One reader, identified as Dave Stark, said if the congresswoman or anyone, "doesn't like living in the U.S." they should leave the country.

"Nobody needs you here," he said.

Another Paul supporter, Joe Cavagnaro, said in an email that Omar is a "socialist bigmouth" who is dangerously out of touch with the rest of the country.

"She really should go back to her s---hole country of origin," he said. "Not a comment as to her race but rather her politics. The Squad is out of touch with mainstream America and needs to be voted out of office ASAP. You must get rid of the cancer before it spreads too far!!"

But Paul was also condemned for the comments by several others, mostly on Twitter.

Democratic strategist Dante Atkins said Paul, who is a libertarian-leaning senator,

"would love Somalia."

"No central government, total lack of regulatory infrastructure, and an unlimited right to keep and bear arms," Atkins tweeted. "He should check it out. Libertarian paradise."

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/philb.