Before leaving the White House to fly to a campaign rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Thursday, President Donald Trump said that he believes he can be the first Republican presidential candidate to win the state since 1972, when Richard Nixon managed to take it. Trump also thinks he has a surprising secret weapon who may help him come out victorious in the state, and that weapon is leftwing “Squad” member Ilhan Omar.

“I think we can win,” Trump said before boarding Marine One, according to Twin Cities Pioneer Press. “It’s been a long time since a Republican won. We have a 20,000-seat auditorium. You know, we have the — it’s essentially Madison Square Garden. And it’s sold out. … I don’t know who’s going, but it’ll be totally sold out. If you’re not going to be there, I’m going to miss you. But they have a line now that’s many blocks long. It’s amazing. We have a line, right now in Minnesota, that’s many blocks long. I think I can win in Minnesota.”

A reporter then asked Trump, “Do you think (U.S. Rep.) Ilhan Omar (D-1st) is helping you win in Minnesota?”

Without missing a beat, Trump replied, “I think Omar is helping us win in Minnesota and other places.  I’ll see you all — I’ll see you in Minnesota.”

Sign Petition: Remove Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee 

This comment will undoubtedly, as she has spent much of her time since being elected to Congress earlier this year bashing President Trump every chance she gets. In fact, Omar’s anti-Trump obsession came back to bite her on Thursday, when Minneapolis police officer Chris Kelley, who is challenging her for her congressional seat, spoke out to slam her as an “absentee landlord” in Minnesota.

“She’s traveling the world. She’s fighting the president on Twitter. She’s not doing anything in the district. And, I can say firsthand, the homelessness, the opioid problems, and other issues aren’t improving,” Kelley said.

Kelley, an Iraq War veteran, went on to say that though Democrats say that Omar won in a “landslide,” only 37 percent of the population voted. He told Fox News that 2020 is “going to be a totally different animal.”

“You’re going to have a lot of people coming out, and I think we have an excellent chance of coming out on top,” Kelley said.

Kelley then criticized Omar for teaming up with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to try and stop Trump from coming to their city.

“Both [Mayor Jacob Frey] and Ilhan Omar are speaking against the president coming here today and I think that will embolden certain groups to come out and to try and cause problems,” Kelley explained.

.As soon as @realDonaldTrump announced MN rally @Jacob_Frey & @IlhanMN poured fuel on the flames political discord. Freedom of speech is guaranteed in the US Constitution, mayhem, violence & anarchy are not. Never fear the @MinneapolisPD & I are equal opportunity arresters

— Chris Kelley (@ChrisKelleyMN) October 9, 2019

“It is frustrating,” a clearly exacerbated Kelley said. “We should welcome any sitting president coming here. We’ve welcomed other presidents with open arms and now because there’s a disagreement or we have a president across a different aisle, there’s an issue here. So, I believe we should disagree with dignity.”

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