Amid Trump's attacks, Ilhan Omar's ex-husband pops back to spotlight after years, report says

Ilhan Omar

Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is back in the public eye following renewed attention on her former husband, Ahmed Elmi.

Omar, who was married to Elmi from 2009 to 2017, has long faced politically charged rumours about her personal life.

According to the New York Post, Elmi, 40, has reemerged on social media after years out of the public spotlight. He describes himself online as a “dirty dandy,” and shares fashion photos, nightlife snapshots, and images with friends at upscale London cafes.

Elmi has reportedly spent recent years in the United Kingdom, earning a doctorate at Bristol University and working as a research assistant.

His academic interests include “critically queer studies,” decolonisation, gender research, and Black humanities. More recently, posts show him visiting Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The New York Post cites Somali community figure Abdihakim Osman, who told the Daily Mail in 2020 that Omar once referred to Elmi as her brother who needed “papers.”

However, these claims have not been independently verified and contradict official documentation Omar has provided. Multiple mainstream fact-checkers, including AP, Reuters, Snopes, and AFP, have found no verifiable evidence to support the so-called “brother” claim.

No federal agency has ever filed marriage fraud charges against Omar or Elmi, reports said.

The renewed focus comes amid a surge in political attacks from former President Donald Trump. At a rally on Tuesday, Trump mocked Omar’s hijab as a “little turban,” called her “illegal,” and repeated the unverified accusation that she "married her brother to get in the US." He also criticized Somalia, labeling it “the worst country in the world,” and suggested Omar should be deported.

Omar responded on X, dismissing the attacks: “Trump’s obsession with me is beyond weird. He’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead.”