Facing censure, Trump insists ‘not a racist bone in my body’
Defiant in the face of widespread censure, President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that his tweets suggesting four Democratic congresswomen of color return to their countries “were NOT Racist,” and he appealed to fellow Republicans to “not show weakness” and to resist a House resolution condemning his words.
“I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!” Trump exclaimed on Twitter, a day after declaring that “many people agree” with his assessment of the four freshman lawmakers.
“Those Tweets were NOT Racist,” Trump wrote Tuesday amid a continued backlash to his weekend tweets that progressive women “go back” to their “broken and crime-infested” countries. The tweets, which have been widely denounced as racist, were directed at Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria OcasioCortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
All are American citizens, and three of the four were born in the U.S.
Trump alleged again Tuesday that the women, who strongly oppose his policies and comments, in reality “hate our Country.” back what The late they four Monday, called lawmakers “xenophobic condemning fired bigoted remarks” and renewing calls for Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings.
The episode served notice that Trump is willing to again rely on incendiary rhetoric on issues of race and immigration to preserve his political base in the leadup to the 2020 election. He shrugged off the criticism.
“It doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me,” Trump said Monday at the White House. “A lot of people love it, by the way.”
At the Capitol, there was near unanimous condemnation from Democrats and a rumble of discontent from a subset of Republicans, but notably not from the party’s congressional leaders.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said Trump’s campaign slogan truly means he wants again,” that on his lution a new resolution the to “strongly announced comments. “make House America condemning would condemns” The Monday white reso- vote Trump’s and says and “racist they increased “have comments” legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.” In response, Trump tweeted anew Tuesday about the four congresswomen: “Why isn’t the House voting to rebuke the filthy and hate laced things they have said? Because they are the Radical Left, and the Democrats are afraid to take them on. Sad!” Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the party’s White House nominee in 2012 and now one of the president’s most vocal GOP critics, said Monday that Trump’s comments were “destructive, demeaning, and disunifying.”