In a blistering Senate showdown that’s set social media ablaze and divided America down the middle, firebrand Republican Senator John Neely Kennedy has unleashed hell on the progressive ‘Squad’ – those four far-left firebrands who’ve made a career out of trashing the very nation that gave them everything. With his trademark Southern drawl dripping with disdain, the Louisiana lawmaker didn’t mince words: “If you’re not happy in America, leave. Just leave.”

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The explosive ultimatum, delivered in a no-holds-barred committee hearing on national security yesterday, targeted none other than Congresswoman Ilhan Omar – the Somali refugee turned Democratic darling who’s been accused of everything from downplaying 9/11 to peddling anti-Semitic tropes. But Kennedy didn’t stop there. He lumped in her Squad sisters – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley – branding them all “fools” who “hate America” and use their taxpayer-funded platforms for “betrayal rather than gratitude.”

The clip of Kennedy’s rant has racked up over 50 million views on X (formerly Twitter) in under 24 hours, with patriots hailing him as a hero and left-wing activists screeching “racist!” from the rooftops. One viral tweet from a MAGA supporter summed it up: “Finally, someone says what we’re all thinking! If you hate the greatest country on Earth, GTFO! #KennedyForPresident.” But detractors, including AOC herself, fired back: “This is the ugly face of white supremacy – silencing women of colour who dare to criticise imperialism.”

As the dust settles on this Capitol Hill cage match, Daily Mail Online can reveal the shocking backstory, the Squad’s laundry list of controversies, and why Kennedy’s words are striking a raw nerve in a nation weary of woke warriors who bite the hand that feeds them. Is this the end for the Squad’s reign of terror, or just the latest salvo in America’s culture war? Buckle up – we’ve got the full, unfiltered scoop.

The Spark: A Tweet That Lit the Fuse

It all kicked off with a provocative tweet from none other than former President Donald Trump – yes, that Donald Trump – who last week blasted the Squad as “a disgrace to our country” for their vocal opposition to U.S. support for Israel amid the escalating Middle East crisis. Trump, ever the provocateur, wrote: “These women hate America and everything it stands for. Why are they even in Congress?” The post, which garnered 2.5 million likes, was the match; Kennedy’s Senate monologue was the gasoline.

Picture the scene: It’s a sweltering October afternoon in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The Senate Judiciary Committee is grilling witnesses on border security and foreign policy threats. Enter Senator Kennedy, the 73-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer with a folksy charm that masks a razor-sharp intellect. Dressed in his signature seersucker suit, he leans into the microphone, eyes twinkling with mischief, and lets rip.

“Folks,” he begins, his Louisiana twang cutting through the tension like a bayou knife, “I consider Congresswoman Omar, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, Congresswoman Tlaib, Congresswoman Pressley… I consider them to be fools. They hate America. They think America was wicked in its origins, and it’s even more wicked today.” Gasps ripple through the room. AOC, watching remotely, reportedly muted her feed in fury.

But Kennedy’s on a roll. Turning his fire on Omar specifically – the Minnesota rep who fled Somalia’s civil war as a child and built a life in the land of the free – he paints a damning portrait. “Congresswoman Omar came here as a refugee. America opened its arms, gave her opportunities no other country would dream of. And what does she do? She stands on the floor of the House and calls this nation ‘racist, wicked, and evil.’ Folks, that’s not courage. That’s betrayal.”

The chamber erupts. Democrats shout “point of order!” while Republicans nod approvingly. Kennedy waves them off. “You don’t get to use your identity as a shield against accountability. We’re tired of politicians who hate the very soil they stand on. We’re tired of people tearing down the flag instead of standing for it.” Boom. Mic drop. Or in this case, gavel bang.

Meet the Squad: From Bartenders to Betrayers?

To understand the venom in Kennedy’s voice, you need to know the Squad – that tight-knit quartet of millennial firecrackers who stormed Congress in 2018 on a wave of progressive rage. Led by AOC, the 35-year-old former bartender from New York with Instagram-fame dance moves and a Green New Deal that’s more fantasy than policy, they’ve become the darlings of the left and the bogeymen of the right.

Then there’s Omar, 43, the hijab-wearing trailblazer whose 2019 tweet likening AIPAC (the pro-Israel lobby) to “all about the Benjamins” sparked bipartisan outrage and her infamous House Foreign Affairs Committee ouster. Critics, including then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, slammed her for “minimizing the 9/11 attacks” by calling them “some people did something” – words that still haunt her. “She’s a walking contradiction,” one GOP aide told Daily Mail Online off the record. “Flees tyranny, then defends terrorists. It’s mind-boggling.”

Rashida Tlaib, 49, the Detroit Democrat and Palestinian-American activist, has her own rap sheet: chanting “impeach the motherf***er” at Trump’s State of the Union and refusing to condemn Hamas after their October 7 atrocities. “She’s not just anti-Israel; she’s anti-peace,” says Abraham Foxman, former ADL director. And rounding out the crew is Ayanna Pressley, 50, the Boston braider-turned-congresswoman who’s pushed for defunding the police while her district grapples with skyrocketing crime.

Together, they’ve championed causes that make Middle America recoil: abolishing ICE, packing the Supreme Court, and reparations for slavery – all while jetting off to glitzy conferences on the taxpayer dime. Kennedy’s takedown isn’t just personal; it’s ideological Armageddon. “These women aren’t reformers,” he thundered. “They’re revolutionaries who want to burn it all down and build a socialist utopia on the ashes. Newsflash: That failed in Venezuela. It won’t work here.”

Omar’s Origin Story: From Refugee to ‘Ringleader of Resentment’

No one feels the sting of Kennedy’s barbs quite like Ilhan Omar. Born in Mogadishu in 1982, she spent four harrowing years in a Kenyan refugee camp before her family resettled in Virginia Beach in 1995. America was her salvation: public schools, community college, a job as a nutritionist, and eventually, a seat in the Minnesota House at 32 – the first hijabi Muslim in U.S. history.

But glory turned to infamy fast. Elected to Congress in 2018 amid the blue wave, Omar quickly alienated allies with her unfiltered takes. That 9/11 flub? It came during a 2019 speech on Islamophobia: “Some people did something, and all Muslims got blamed.” To patriots, it was a slap in the face to 3,000 dead Americans. Her AIPAC comments? Labeled anti-Semitic by 23 Jewish Democrats who signed a resolution condemning her.

The backlash peaked in February 2023 when House Republicans, led by McCarthy, booted her from the Foreign Affairs Committee – a move Kennedy yesterday defended as “long overdue.” “Why should someone who questions our alliances sit on a committee deciding our foreign policy?” he asked rhetorically. “It’s like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.”

Omar’s defenders cry foul. “This is Islamophobia wrapped in patriotism,” her spokesperson blasted in a statement to Daily Mail Online. “Senator Kennedy’s words echo the same bigotry that tried to silence her before.” Yet even some liberals are tiring of the drama. A senior Democratic strategist, speaking anonymously, admitted: “Ilhan’s a lightning rod. She energizes the base but alienates swing voters. The Squad’s extremism is electoral poison.”

Kennedy, undeterred, doubled down in a Fox News hit last night: “Look, I don’t hate Congresswoman Omar. I pity her. She had the American Dream handed to her on a silver platter, and she’s spitting in its face. If socialism’s so great, why not go back to Somalia and fix it there?”

The Ideological Inferno: Patriotism vs. ‘Woke Wasteland’

At its core, Kennedy’s crusade is a clash of worldviews – apple pie versus avocado toast. The Senator, a staunch conservative who’s compared Democrats to “a bowl of warm spit,” champions “free enterprise, a strong military, and American exceptionalism.” He ticks off the Squad’s sins like a preacher listing commandments: open borders flooding the job market with illegals, sky-high taxes funding “free everything,” and a lax military that invites “adversaries like China to walk all over us.”

Contrast that with the Squad’s manifesto: the Green New Deal’s $93 trillion price tag (per American Action Forum estimates), Medicare for All that would nationalise healthcare, and a foreign policy that sees Israel as the villain and Hamas as misunderstood. “They think America’s original sin was its founding,” Kennedy scoffed. “Slavery, yes – evil. But we’ve atoned, built the greatest nation on Earth. These fools want to apologise for existing.”

The numbers back Kennedy’s fury. A recent Rasmussen poll shows 62% of Americans view the Squad unfavourably, with only 28% approving. Among independents, it’s a bloodbath: 71% disapprove. “They’re out of touch with flyover country,” says pollster Scott Rasmussen. “Kennedy’s speaking for the silent majority – hardworking folks who love their country, warts and all.”

Yet the left fights dirty. AOC, live-tweeting the hearing, accused Kennedy of “performative patriotism” and “erasing women’s voices.” Tlaib piled on: “This is what white men do when they can’t handle accountability.” Pressley invoked MLK: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere – including silencing Black and brown women.” Omar, ever poetic, posted a Quranic verse about patience amid persecution.

Social media exploded. #LeaveAmerica trended worldwide, with memes of Omar packing suitcases captioned “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Counter-hashtags like #SquadStrong rallied 1.2 million posts, featuring AOC’s tearful videos and Omar’s resilience anthems. Celebrities weighed in: Elon Musk retweeted Kennedy with a fire emoji, while Alyssa Milano called it “a dog whistle for deportation.”

Global Echoes: From London to Lagos, the World Watches

This isn’t just an American spat – it’s gone global, with headlines from The Times of London (“Yankee Uncle Sam Tells Squad to Skedaddle”) to Al Jazeera (“U.S. Senator’s Islamophobic Rant Targets Muslim Lawmaker”). In Somalia, where Omar’s a folk hero, protests erupted outside the U.S. embassy in Mogadishu, chanting “Hands off Ilhan!” Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, Kennedy’s hailed as a mensch; Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: “Truth spoken boldly. America needs more like Senator Kennedy.”

Back home, the political fallout is seismic. House Speaker Mike Johnson praised Kennedy as “a voice of reason,” hinting at further committee purges. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the “toxic rhetoric,” but insiders whisper he’s privately fuming – the Squad’s base is his party’s lifeblood. Trump, naturally, claimed credit: “I started this fire; Kennedy fanned the flames. Winning!”

For the Squad, it’s do-or-die. AOC’s eyeing a 2026 Senate run, but whispers of primary challenges grow louder. Omar’s facing ethics probes over alleged campaign finance irregularities – coincidence? Tlaib and Pressley, meanwhile, are fundraising off the outrage, raking in $2 million in 48 hours via ActBlue.

Voices from the Trenches: Patriots and Protesters Speak Out

Daily Mail Online hit the streets – from Baton Rouge bayous to Bronx bodegas – to gauge the temperature.

In Louisiana, Kennedy’s a god. “That man’s got more sense in his pinky than the whole Squad in their heads,” chuckles retiree Bubba Thibodeaux, 68, over crawfish at a Shreveport diner. “Omar forgets: America’s the reason she’s not dodging bullets in Africa.”

Up in Minneapolis, Omar’s stronghold, it’s a powder keg. “Kennedy’s a bigot,” fumes activist Aisha Hassan, 29, at a vigil. “Ilhan speaks truth to power – about endless wars, about inequality. If America’s so great, why’s it bombing kids in Gaza?”

In New York’s Astoria, Greek diner owner Kostas Pappas, 55, who’s seen waves of immigrants, offers a nuanced take: “I love America – it made me. But the Squad? They’re spoiled. Omar got the golden ticket and complains about the ride.”

Even celebrities are divided. Roseanne Barr, post-comeback, tweeted: “Kennedy 2028! Deport the haters!” While Bette Midler wailed: “This is McCarthyism 2.0 – next they’ll come for drag queens!”

The Road Ahead: Will the Squad Stay or Go?

As the sun sets on another chaotic day in DC, one thing’s clear: Kennedy’s words have cracked open a chasm. Will Omar and her crew heed the call and “leave” – perhaps for greener pastures in Scandinavia’s socialist paradise? Unlikely. But pressure’s mounting. With midterms looming and Trump’s shadow lengthening, the Squad’s radicalism could be their undoing.

Kennedy, sipping sweet tea in his office, remains defiant. “I’m not here to make friends,” he tells Daily Mail Online. “I’m here to defend this republic – one plain truth at a time. If that ruffles feathers, good. Feathers are meant to be ruffled.”

In a nation born of revolution, where dissent is sacred yet disloyalty toxic, Senator John Kennedy’s takedown isn’t just a rant – it’s a reckoning. America, love it or leave it? The Squad’s got some soul-searching to do. And as the viral videos multiply, one suspects the answer’s blowing in the wind… straight out of Congress.