Trump: I don’t have a racist bone in my body
Top Republicans stay silent as the president defends his tweets and steps up his attack on congresswomen
Donald Trump insisted he did not have a racist bone in his body yesterday as he intensified his criticisms of four Democrat congresswomen. The US president denied that his initial tweet, telling Left-wing congresswomen to “go back” to the countries they were from, was racist, and instead continued to suggest his political opponents “hate our country”. The president was scram- bling to contain the backlash last night as he urged Republicans to reject a resolution saying his “racist comments” had “increased fear and hatred” among new Americans.
DONALD TRUMP insisted he did not have a “racist bone” in his body yesterday as he intensified his criticisms of four Democrat congresswomen amid a lack of criticism from Republicans.
The US president denied that his initial tweet, telling Left-wing congresswomen to “go back” to the countries they were from, was racist and instead continued to suggest his political opponents “hate our country”.
Mr Trump’s lack of remorse was coupled with relative silence from leading Republicans in Congress.
The president was scrambling to contain the political backlash last night 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. All four are US citizens and only Ms Omar was born overseas, in Somalia. 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 successful. 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 Mr Trump’s remarks “shameful” and “racist”, and Anthony Scaramucci, Mr Trump’s former White House communications director, breaking 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 they were racist. Mitch Mcconnell, the most senior Republican in the Senate, and Kevin Mccarthy, the most senior Republican in the House, both said the comments were not racist.