'A creepy obsession' Ilhan Omar on attacks by Trump

"That's Teddy," said Tim Mynett, husband of the US representative Ilhan Omar, as their five-year-old labrador retriever capered around her office on Capitol Hill.

- David Smith

"If you make too much eye contact, he'll lose it. He's my best friend - and he's our security detail these days.The couple were sitting on black leather furniture around a coffee table. Apart from a sneezing fit that took her husband by surprise, Omar showed an unusual Zen-like calm for someone who has received frequent death threats and is the subject of a vendetta from the most powerful man in the world.

Speaking at a rally-style event in Pennsylvania last week, Donald Trump mocked her hijab and alleged that Omar, who was born in Somalia, married her brother to gain US citizenship. "Therefore she's here illegally," he said. "She should get the hell out. Throw her the hell out! She does nothing but complain." The president's supporters broke into a chant of: "Send her back! Send her back!"

What did Omar make of the comments? "They're vile and it is, I believe, a really unhealthy and creepy obsession that he has with me," the 43-year-old told the Guardian on Friday as Teddy frolicked nearby.