PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP DOUBLED DOWN MONDAY ON HIS EARLIER ‘RACIST’ ATTACKS ON FOUR DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMEN, SAYING THE FOUR, WHO ARE ALL U.S. CITIZENS, WERE ‘FREE TO LEAVE’ THE COUNTRY.
Ramps up tweet attacks on congresswomen
Washington • President donald trump escalated his attacks against four minority u.s. congresswomen on monday and dismissed concerns that his comments were racist, outraging democrats, who moved to condemn him in the House of representatives.
speaking at the White House, trump said people he described as critical of the united states should leave the country.
“they’re free to leave if they want. If they want to leave, that’s fine. If they want to stay, that’s fine,” trump said monday, referring to reps. alexandria ocasio-cortez of new york, Ilhan omar of minnesota, rashida tlaib of michigan and ayanna s. Pressley of massachusetts.
on twitter on sunday, trump said they should go back to “the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”
He said the lawmakers “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” and should go back and help fix the countries and “then come back and show us how it is done.”
trump later returned to twitter to say it was “sad to see the democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel.”
Calling the women the radical left, he said they owe him, the country and Israel an apology.
all four of the first-term members of the House of representatives are u.s. citizens and all but one of them were born in the united states. they have been critical of trump as well as the democratic leaders of the House.
the remarks were widely derided inside and outside the u.s. as racist.
Prime minister Justin trudeau on monday said, “I think Canadians and indeed people around the world know exactly what I think about those particular comments. that is not how we do things in Canada.”
theresa may, the outgoing prime minister of Britain, called the comments “completely unacceptable.”
British labour mp david lammy branded them “1950s racism straight from the White House.”
at a press conference monday, the four women said trump was trying to sow division and distract attention from what they characterized as failed policies on immigration, health care and taxation.
“Weak minds and leaders challenge loyalty to our country in order to avoid challenging and debating the policy,” ocasio-cortez said.
House speaker nancy Pelosi said her party would introduce a resolution condemning trump’s “xenophobic tweets.” she did not say when a vote would occur.
although most republicans stayed silent, a handful began expressing concern late on monday.