I am no racist, says Trump as he renews attack on congresswomen
DONALD TRUMP insisted he did not have a “racist bone” in his body as he intensified his criticisms yesterday of four Democrat congresswomen amid a lack of criticism from Republicans.
The US president denied his initial tweet, telling left-wing congresswomen to “go back” to the countries they were from, was racist, instead continuing to suggest his political opponents “hate our country”.
Mr Trump’s lack of remorse was coupled with relative silence from leading Republicans in Congress, which some commentators have taken as a sign of how dominant the president’s hold on the party has become.
Mr Trump was scrambling to contain the political backlash as he urged Republicans to reject a resolution in the House of Representatives saying his “racists comments” had “increased fear and hatred” among new Americans.
He also faces a new vote in the House, which is controlled by the Democrats, on whether to begin impeachment proceedings – the mechanism for removing him from office.
A Democrat congressman pledged to table the vote next week, though it seems unlikely to pass.
Mr Trump’s initial tweet on Sunday, telling progressive Democrat congresswomen “who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” to “go back” to where they come from, did not name his targets.
But four congresswomen of black or minority ethnic background known as The Squad – Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts – have since challenged Mr Trump, speaking out against his comments at a press conference at the US Capitol building.
All four are US citizens and only Ms Omar was born overseas, in Somalia.
They told reporters they wanted to refocus attention on to the president’s policies.
Ms Pressley dismissed the president’s efforts “to marginalise us and to silence us”.
But, addressing the outcry over his initial remarks, Mr Trump tweeted yesterday: “Those tweets were NOT racist. I don’ t have a racist bone in my body!” He also renewed attacks on the congresswomen.
“The Democrat congresswomen have been spewing some of the most vile, hateful, and disgusting things ever said by a politician in the House or Senate, and yet they get a free pass and a big embrace from the Democrat Party,” he wrote in one tweet.
Another read: “Our country is free, beautiful and very suc
‘If you’re not happy in the US, you can leave’
cessful. If you hate our country, or if you are not happy here, you can leave!”
There were pockets of criticism among Republicans, with Charlie Baker, the Massachusetts governor, calling the remarks “shameful” and “racist”.
Anthony Scaramucci, Mr Trump’s former White House communications director, broke ranks yesterday to call the president’s comments “racist and unacceptable”.
But many more Republicans did not go that far. Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate, called the remarks “demeaning” but repeatedly refused to say that they were racist.
Kevin McCarthy, the most senior Republican in the House, also said the comments were not racist. (© Daily Telegraph, London)