Ilhan Omar read 'World War II' as 'World War Eleven' — and Joe Rogan won't let anyone forget it

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., stood at a Capitol Hill news conference last year and read aloud from prepared remarks about the Alien Enemies Act. What came out of her mouth was "World War Eleven." The clip, now resurfaced and viral, drew a pointed roasting from podcaster Joe Rogan and a wave of mockery across social media that shows no sign of slowing down.

Omar was speaking at a Democratic press event to reintroduce the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, a bill aimed at opposing President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement and his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. The bill did not pass. But Omar's opening remarks produced a moment that outlived the legislation itself.

As Fox News Digital reported, the congresswoman, the first Somali American member of Congress, told the assembled press that the "last time the Alien Enemies Act was invoked it was used to detain and deport German, Japanese, Italian immigrants during World War Eleven." She apparently misread the Roman numeral "II" as the number eleven. She later caught the mistake and corrected herself, but the damage was done.

Rogan and Simpson pile on

Rogan brought up the clip during a conversation with comedian Brian Simpson. The discussion had turned to allegations of Somali fraud in Minnesota when Rogan pivoted to Omar's gaffe. He cued his producer to find the video and played it for Simpson.

Rogan laid out the error with obvious relish:

"So she's reading off this script, and you know how people write World War II, and they use, like, I-I for II? She reads it as 'World War Eleven.'"

Simpson responded with an exasperated sigh. His follow-up was blunt:

"This is a congressperson?"

Rogan acknowledged that Omar caught the mistake on camera, something he said he hadn't seen before. "I didn't know she caught it. I never saw that. They always cut it off before she caught it," he said. But the concession didn't soften his point. "How could you say 'World War 11?'" Rogan asked. "Like, you know, there haven't been 9 other wars you forgot about?"

He also offered a gentler observation, noting, "It's kinda adorable because I don't think English is her first language already." Simpson was less charitable, arguing that Omar had said "way dumber s***" in the past. "Well, that's politics, bro. Politics is f***ing brutal, man," Simpson added. "I don't understand why anybody would want to go into it."

Social media piles higher

The clip's second life online drew reactions from well-known conservative voices. Podcast host Matt Walsh posted on X with characteristic directness:

"God forbid we ever have World War 3, Ilhan Omar will think we're on World War One Hundred Eleven."

Walsh went further in a separate post, writing, "Consider the astronomical levels of stupidity on display here. Ilhan Omar doesn't know how to read Roman numerals AND she thinks there have been 11 world wars." He added: "Either one of those would be reasonable justification to remove her from office and send her back to Somalia. But both?"

Omar has faced no shortage of controversy during her time in Congress, including allegations she steered millions in federal funds to a Minneapolis clinic run by her sister while denying family financial ties.

Conservative activist and prominent detransitioner Chloe Cole posted her own reaction on X: "Absolutely in awe of this clip of Ilhan Omar calling World War II 'World War Eleven.'" Cole added, "Truly quality learing. We're learing like we've never leared before", a reference that connected the gaffe to a broader narrative.

That "learing" line wasn't random. A popular conservative account called "I Meme Therefore I Am" tied the clip to the Quality Learing Center, one of the Minneapolis daycare centers that had drawn attention for alleged fraud and for misspelling its own name on its sign. "She must have gotten her education in the Quality Learing Center," the account posted.

The bill behind the blunder

Lost in the mockery is the substance Omar was trying to discuss. The Neighbors Not Enemies Act was a Democratic effort to push back against the use of the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime statute that President Trump invoked as part of his immigration enforcement agenda. Omar's prepared remarks referenced the historical use of the act to detain and deport German, Japanese, and Italian immigrants during the Second World War.

The bill never passed. And Omar's misreading ensured that the press conference would be remembered for something other than its policy argument. That's a problem that goes beyond one flubbed line. When a sitting member of Congress cannot read her own prepared script on a matter she claims to care deeply about, it raises fair questions about the seriousness of the effort.

Scrutiny of Omar extends well beyond verbal gaffes. Congressional investigators have also demanded business records from Omar's husband amid questions about a surge in household wealth.

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar's office for comment but did not receive an immediate reply. Whether she eventually responded is not known.

A pattern, not just a gaffe

Everyone flubs a word now and then. Public speaking is unforgiving, and cameras catch everything. A generous reading of the moment is that Omar simply misread a Roman numeral, an honest mistake, quickly corrected.

But the reason this clip went viral isn't just the error itself. It's the context. Omar is a lawmaker who has built her brand on moral authority, lecturing colleagues, the public, and the country on matters of history, justice, and immigration policy. When someone in that role reads "II" as "eleven" while invoking the internment of wartime immigrants, the gap between the posture and the performance becomes the story.

That gap has followed Omar through much of her career. Controversies involving her inner circle and office staff have raised persistent questions about the culture she runs.

Rogan's audience, the largest podcast listenership in the country, watched the clip and drew their own conclusions. Simpson's sigh said more than any monologue could. The social media pile-on was predictable, but it was also earned. If you are going to stand at a podium on Capitol Hill and invoke the gravest chapter of twentieth-century immigration policy, you should at least know which war you're talking about.

Omar has also made headlines for high-profile political clashes that have kept her at the center of national debate for years.

The Neighbors Not Enemies Act is dead. The clip lives on. And somewhere, nine missing world wars are still unaccounted for.