NPRCongresswomen Denounce Trump Tweets Telling Them To 'Go Back' To Their Home Countries
July 14, 20195:06 PM ET
Bobby Allyn
A group of four minority Democratic congresswomen targeted by President Trump in a series of Sunday morning tweets denounced his racist remarks and accused him of "stoking white nationalism."
Weighing in on friction between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and four liberal Democrats dubbed "the squad," Trump referred to " 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen" in his tweets, saying they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
"So interesting to see 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run," the president wrote.
Although Trump did not single the lawmakers out by name, four freshmen U.S. representatives known for their progressive views and recent tensions with moderate Democrats viewed the tweets as directed at them: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
As members of Congress, all four women are U.S. citizens. All but Omar were born in the United States. Omar is originally from Somalia, from which she fled as a refugee before settling in the U.S.
The quartet of progressive congresswomen shot back at the president.
Ocasio-Cortez, who was born in the Bronx to parents of Puerto Rican descent, said: "You are angry because you can't conceive of an America that includes us."
Pressley, who was born in Ohio and is black, responded: "THIS is what racism looks like."
Omar replied to Trump by accusing him of "stoking white nationalism." And Tlaib said, "I am fighting corruption in OUR country." She added: "Detroit taught me how to fight for the communities you continue to degrade & attack."
Tlaib was born in Detroit to Palestinian parents. In 2018, she and Omar became the first two Muslim women to ever be elected to Congress.
Trump's decision to highlight the simmering tension inside the Democratic caucus appeared to have one clear effect: uniting the party in defense of the four freshman lawmakers.
Pelosi said that with his tweets, Trump "reaffirms [that] his plan to 'Make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again," adding that Trump's "xenophobic comments" were intended to "divide our nation."
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who is Hispanic, said that despite being born in the U.S., he used to hear "go back to Mexico" growing up, an insult that he encountered even as an adult, despite serving in the Marine Corps and winning a seat in Congress.
"To people like Trump I will never be American enough. So if you wonder why I give no inch to these racists, now you know. Nothing will ever satisfy them, all we can do is stop them," Gallego said on Twitter.
For years, Trump pushed conspiracies that President Obama was not born in the U.S., even making the false claim part of his run for president in 2016. Trump finally conceded in September 2016 that Obama was born in the United States.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., linked Trump's advocacy of the birther movement to his Sunday comments treating his political opponents as outsiders who do not belong in the United States.
"Trump is now turning the same birtherism he directed at President Obama against women of color serving in Congress," Beyer said. "Everyone should call this what it is: racism."
Several members of the Trump administration who made the rounds on Sunday morning TV programs refused to comment or acknowledge the racist remarks.
Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told CNN's Jake Tapper that he was not sure whom Trump was referring to in the tweets.
"I don't, I don't," Cuccinelli said.
Other Republicans remained silent on the Trump tweets. But Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who has called for Trump to be impeached and recently quit the Republican Party to become an independent, came to the defense of the four congresswomen.
"To tell these American citizens (most of whom were born here) to 'go back' to the 'crime infested places from which they came' is racist and disgusting," Amash said.
Trump responded to criticism on Sunday, tweeting that it was "So sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country."
"... Whenever confronted, they call their adversaries, including Nancy Pelosi, 'RACIST,' " he continued. "If the Democrat Party wants to continue to condone such disgraceful behavior, then we look even more forward to seeing you at the ballot box in 2020!"
This was precipitated, as the first article notes, by a public disagreement between the four Representatives in question and Speaker Pelosi.'They Are Free To Leave': Trump Accuses Congresswomen Of Hating America
July 15, 201911:03 AM ET
Brian Naylor
President Trump, a day after using racist language in tweets directed at four minority members of Congress, dug in further Monday on Twitter and at a live event at the White House.
"They are free to leave" if they want, Trump said during an impromptu news conference in front of the White House. He also accused the members of Congress of hating America.
Asked if he was concerned that "people saw the tweet as racist and that white nationalist groups are finding common cause with you on that point," Trump replied, "It doesn't concern me because many people agree with me."
Earlier in the day, he said the lawmakers should apologize "to our Country, the people of Israel and even to the Office of the President."
Trump said "the Radical Left Congresswomen" should apologize for "the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said. So many people are angry at them & their horrible & disgusting actions!"
In the initial tweet on Sunday, Trump said the congresswomen — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. — should "go back" to their countries of origin (Omar was born in Somalia; the other three were all born in the United States).
Ocasio-Cortez described Trump's tweets as "hallmark language of white supremacists."
Omar, whom Trump called out by name on Monday, tweeted, "They are working to silence the voices of the people who see themselves represented in me. I will stay in the ring, fighting for what is right and will never back down in the face of these attacks."
In brief comments to reporters at the White House, Trump denied his tweets were racist. "Not at all," he said.
Democrats have widely criticized the president's Sunday tweets.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been at odds with the four members of her caucus, came to their defense Sunday. She tweeted that when Trump "tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to 'Make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again." Pelosi added, "Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power."
At the White House on Monday, Trump claimed it was Pelosi's remarks that were racist.
On Monday, Pelosi announced that the House will take up a resolution "condemning the President's xenophobic tweets" — a resolution that she said will be sponsored by Democratic lawmakers who were born overseas.
Republicans stayed mostly quiet about Trump's tweets on Sunday, but several weighed in on Monday, critical of Trump's language.
In an interview on Fox & Friends on Monday morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump should "aim higher. ... They are American citizens. They won an election. Take on their policies." But Graham also said, "We all know that [Ocasio-Cortez] and this crowd are a bunch of communists. They hate Israel. They hate our own country."
Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Mich., tweeted at Trump, "we must be better than comments like these. I share the political frustrations with some members of the other party, but these comments are beneath leaders."
Another Michigan GOP lawmaker, Rep. Fred Upton, tweeted that he is "appalled by the President's tweets," adding, "There's no excuse." Upton also condemned what he labeled "Inflammatory rhetoric from both sides of the aisle that is used to divide us."
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., also issued a statement condemning the tweets.
"President Trump was wrong to suggest that four left-wing congresswomen should go back to where they came from. Three of the four were born in America and the citizenship of all four is as valid as mine," he said. "I couldn't disagree more with these congresswomen's views on immigration, socialism, national security, and virtually every policy issue. But they are entitled to their opinions, however misguided they may be. We should defeat their ideas on the merits, not on the basis of their ancestry."
One of the strongest reactions among Republicans came from Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who is the only African American Republican in the House. Hurd told CNN that the president's tweets were "racist and xenophobic" and said it was "behavior that's unbecoming of the leader of the free world. He should be talking about things that unite us, not divide us."
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski tweeted, "There is no excuse for the president's spiteful comments –they were absolutely unacceptable and this needs to stop."
And Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the Senate's only African American Republican, charged that the Democratic Party was "embroiled in racial controversy," while also condemning the president's "racially offensive language."
Trump, who in a separate tweet Sunday claimed 94% support from Republican Party members, seemed to welcome the storm he set off, saying in another tweet that it was "sad" to see Democrats "sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion."
The Anti-Defamation League, however, had a different view. In a statement, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said:
"While ADL has publicly disagreed with these congresswomen on some issues, the president is echoing the racist talking points of white nationalists and cynically using the Jewish people and the state of Israel as a shield to double down on his remarks. Politicizing the widespread, bipartisan support for Israel and throwing around accusations of anti-Semitism is damaging to the security of Israel and the Jewish community. He should lead by example, stop politicizing these issues and stop smearing members of Congress."
I think Trump sees this as a Xanatos gambit, or would if he were familiar with the term. By publicly siding with the Speaker, he creates problems for the Democrats no matter what happens; if the Speaker persists in trying to sideline the junior members' agenda she seems to be siding with the President, thus angering her own base. If she closes ranks (which she has done), she sacrifices her own position and allows Trump to paint the Democrats as siding with their far left wing (which he has done). Either result is red meat for his base. He's used his endorsement as a poison pill before, so we know he knows how to do it and how effective it is.
