Some Ohio lawmakers decry Trump’s tweets

WASHINGTON — A handful of Ohio Republicans disavowed President Donald Trump’s tweet urging four Democratic lawmakers to “go back” to their home countries Monday, but all stopped short of calling Trump a racist, as Democrats including Sen. Sherrod Brown have.

But GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Dayton came close in his own tweet: “I am confident that every Member of Congress is a committed American. @ realdonaldtrump’s tweets from this weekend were racist and he should apologize. We must work as a country to rise above hate, not enable it.”

Sen. Rob Portman, meanwhile, called Trump’s tweets “divisive and wrong.”

“I wish the president would talk more about the strong economy that he has helped create and unite people around that,” Portman, a Republican, said.

Rep. Steve Stivers, R-upper Arlington, condemned Trump’s tweets, saying “swapping insults on the Internet makes our jobs that much harder.”

“The divisive rhetoric and personal attacks we’ve seen from the president and members of the House over the weekend are unacceptable and stand directly in the way of progress,” he said.

And Rep. Troy Balderson, R-zanesville, tweeted, “to

me, part of being patriotic means embracing the values laid out by our founding fathers. This includes being accepting of all races and cultures. Leaders of our great nation — including the President and all Members of Congress — should be held to high standards of decorum. Therefore, I do not condone yesterday’s tweets.”

One of the congresswomen Trump appeared to refer to, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, was born in Cincinnati.

Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine, in an interview with WKYC radio in Cleveland, said Trump’s tweets were “not appropriate.”

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, meanwhile, said they were “deplorable and beneath the dignity of the office.”

Only Rep. Jim Jordan,

R-urbana, seemed to defend Trump, saying, “The President is frustrated by the ridiculous and dangerous positions of the Left … of course he’s not racist!”

Ohio Democrats, unsurprisingly, were harsher in their criticism.

In a conference call with reporters, Brow said Trump “has shown again and again that he’s a racist, period.”

“And he’s almost proud of it, the way that he talks,” Brown said. “It’s just very sad.”

Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-jefferson Township, called Trump’s tweets “disgusting — and reminiscent of a time in our country’s history when discrimination ruled.”

“Hearing the hateful rhetoric coming out of the White House cannot be tolerated by anyone who claims to love this country. We are stronger Turner as a country when we are united, so I implore all Americans — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike — to speak out against this vile, xenophobic, and dangerous attack on our fellow Americans.”

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-toledo, tweeted, “The President’s rhetoric toward four of my House colleagues is disgraceful. He’s a divider who insults and stokes resentment for political gain. America deserves better than his calculated rants.”

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-niles, meanwhile, called the tweet “disgusting, vile and racist.”

“The President of the United States is telling four congresswomen of color to go back to where they came from. It’s un-presidential and un-american,” the president candidate tweeted. “Diversity does not weaken us, it makes us stronger.”