President Donald Trump defended his racist Twitter tirade against four Congresswomen of color, saying on Monday that it is the freshmen lawmakers who need to apologize for their “foul language & racist hatred.”
“When will the Radical Left Congresswomen apologize to our Country, the people of Israel and even to the Office of the President, for the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said,” Trump added on Twitter. “So many people are angry at them & their horrible & disgusting actions!”
On Sunday, Trump issued a thread of xenophobic tweets calling on Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) to “go back” to where they came from, adding that the lawmakers “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world.”
Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, and Tlaib were all born in the U.S. Omar was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. with her family as a refugee in the 1990s. She became a citizen in 2000 at age 17.
In response, Omar slammed Trump for “stoking white nationalism,” adding that she would continue to fight against the administration's “hate-filled agenda” and protect the U.S. from the “the worst, most corrupt and inept president we have ever seen.”
Pressley also responded to the post, saying “THIS is what racism looks like. WE are what democracy looks like. And we’re not going anywhere. Except back to DC to fight for the families you marginalize and vilify everyday.”
Tlaib told Trump to “keep talking, you just make me work harder. I'm proud of my Palestinian roots & a WEAK bully like you never wins. This is what America looks like.”
Republicans were slow to condemn the president's remarks with party leadership largely avoiding the issue. By Monday afternoon, some GOP lawmakers did speak out, inlcuding Texas Rep. Will Hurd, who told CNN the tweets were "racist and xenophobic," as well as, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, who said the comments were racist and urged Trump to apologize. "We must work as a country to rise above hate, not enable it," Turner wrote on Twitter.
Yet Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — who was a harsh critic of Trump in 2016 and has since become one of his most ardent supporters — refused to condemn the president on Fox Monday morning, instead saying on Fox that “we all know that [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and this crowd are a bunch of communists, they hate Israel, they hate our own country.”
Meanwhile, Democrats across the party have criticized Trump for fanning racial resentment and defend their colleagues.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) condemned the “xenophobic comments” and said that Trump’s tweets “reaffirms his plan to 'Make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again.” On Monday, Pelosi also announced that she would bring forth a resolution in the House to formally reject the president's comments. "Let me be clear, our Caucus will continue to forcefully respond to these disgusting attacks," she said in a statment.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, called Trump a “racial arsonist” and told the president to “Shut. Your. Reckless. Mouth.”
“So sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion,” Trump said on Monday
Trump attacked the Congresswomen — dubbed “the squad” — amid public tension between the progressive women and party leadership over priorities and tactics for passing legislation. In his original Tweet on Sunday, Trump fueled the infighting in the Democratic party, saying that “I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!”
Trump’s remarks have also been condemned by civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the ACLU.
“America deserves better than a president who spreads vile, racist tropes,” the ACLU said.
Media Matters for America — a progressive media watchdog group — noted that Trump's rant came just 20 minutes after Fox News aired a segement about the four progressive Congresswomen.
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