Ilhan Omar just can’t seem to get a peaceful news cycle — not with her second husband popping back up online and President Donald Trump reminding Americans of the controversy that’s followed her for years.
According to new reports, Omar’s ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, has reappeared on social media, styling himself as a “dirty dandy” on Instagram while living it up in Johannesburg. Elmi, now 40, had left the U.S. years ago but is believed to be enjoying a comfortable lifestyle abroad, proudly posting photos from the University of the Witwatersrand and showcasing South Africa’s upscale hotspots. Quite the academic sabbatical.
His online comeback conveniently coincides with President Trump once again drawing attention to long-standing — and, yes, officially unsubstantiated — allegations that Omar married her own brother to game U.S. immigration laws. And Trump didn’t hold back.
At a Pennsylvania rally Tuesday, Trump repeated the accusation with his trademark clarity:
“She married her brother in order to get in, right? She married her brother.”
The President then added his signature humor:
“Can you imagine if Donald Trump married his sister? Beautiful. She’s a beautiful person.”
Trump reminded supporters that if he ever attempted anything remotely like that, he wouldn’t last “about two hours.” Meanwhile, he argued, Omar “should get the hell out” if the allegations were true.
He didn’t stop at the rally. In a Politico interview, Trump expanded on the claims, saying he didn’t “want to see a woman that… marries her brother to get in and then becomes a congressman and does nothing but complain.” According to him, all Omar does is “complain, complain, complain,” while the country she emigrated from remains “a mess.”
Omar, for her part, has always denied the accusation. Still, her marital history has drawn scrutiny since she entered public office — and, frankly, she hasn’t given critics much to work with besides… her own timeline.
Here’s what’s documented:
Omar, born in Somalia and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2000, entered a religious marriage with Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2002.
Then, in 2009, she legally married Elmi — a British citizen — while still maintaining her religious union and continuing to have children with Hirsi.
Omar and Elmi separated in 2011 and did not finalize their legal divorce until 2017.
She then remarried Hirsi in a civil ceremony before divorcing him again and eventually marrying political aide Tim Mynett in 2020. Quite the relationship résumé for a sitting member of Congress.
Meanwhile, Elmi has been busy polishing his academic credentials. According to the University of Bristol, he earned a Ph.D. and worked as a research assistant specializing in gender studies, queer theory, decolonization, and international development — fields that, unsurprisingly, seem to pair quite well with his new bohemian Instagram persona.
While Democrats rush to shield Omar from scrutiny, Trump’s revival of the allegations ensures Americans haven’t forgotten the questions surrounding her story. And regardless of where one stands, it’s good to see the truth — and even the “dirty dandy” himself — stepping back into the spotlight.
At the end of the day, transparency always wins, and sunlight has a funny way of making everything a little clearer.
