PUSH BACK
Donald Trump insists ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ – but House condemns his tweets telling Democrats to ‘go back’ to their countries
DONALD Trump has insisted he is not a racist after telling four minority US congresswomen to "go back" to their "crime infested" countries.
The US President tweeted he "did not have a racist bone in [his] body", after his comments were met with widespread criticism.
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US House condemns President Donald Trump over 'racist comments' tweeted at congresswomen
But on Tuesday night, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted to condemn Trump for his "racist comments".
The resolution passed largely along party lines — 235 Democrats joined by only four Republican supported the measure.
The debate brought chaos to the House floor and froze the chamber for over an hour after a Republican lawmaker objected to Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling the president a "racist".
After the vote, Trump doubled down on his comments about the Democratic congresswoman, calling them "bitter";.
He tweeted: "If you really want to see statements, look at the horrible things they said about our country, Israel and much more.
"They are now the top, visible members of the House Democrats, who are now wedded to this bitterness and hate."
The row was first sparked when Trump sent tweets questioning the right of a number of congresswoman with ancestry from outside the US to criticise his administration.
On Sunday, the president wrote: "So interesting to see... Democrat Congresswoman, who originally came from countries whose government are a complete and total catastrophe, ...telling the people of the United States... how our government is to be run.
"Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
No representative was named, but the tweets have been widely interpreted to be referring to four in particular: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
All are US citizens of minority heritage, with only Omar, who moved to the US from Somalia as a child, having been born outside the US.
Representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties have said publicly that the comments were racist.
In the tweets on Tuesday, Trump also said: "Republicans should not show 'weakness' and fall into their trap."
IMMIGRATION POLICY
Each of the women has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration, with particular focus on his policies regarding the border the US shares with Mexico.
The last year has seen an increase in so-called migrant caravans, large groups of men and women fleeing violence, poverty, and corruption in their home countries, travelling from southern and central America with the hope of settling in the US.
Trump, who built his campaign platform on opposition to illegal immigration and a plan to build a wall along the 2,000-mile border, has called the increase an "assault on our country" and suggested "Democrats had something to do with it".
His administration has also faced fierce criticism for its treatment of those migrants to have reached the border and attempted to cross it.
Reports have emerged of people being kept in overcrowded detention centres, of children having to sleep on the floor of wire cages, and of thousands of children being separated from their parents for months at a time.
The four congresswomen have all also opposed Trump's actions on areas of domestic policy like rates of taxation, healthcare provision, and climate change.
'RACIST, SHAMEFUL, AND INCREDIBLY DAMAGING'
The president's remarks have attracted widespread condemnation from the Democratic Party and beyond.
Former vice president Joe Biden, currently seeking the Democratic nomination to face Trump at the 2020 election, said the tweets were "flat racist", adding that they were "shameful" and "incredibly damaging".
California Senator and fellow presidential candidate Kamala Harris tweeted: "Let's call the president’s racist attack exactly what it is: un-American."
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who has previously been criticised from some of the four women targeted by Trump, pledged to put a resolution on the floor of the House condemning the president's language.
'WE LOVE THIS COUNTRY'
The women themselves gave a press conference last night reiterating the criticism of the tweets.
Tlaib said: "Sadly, this is not the first, nor will it be the last, time we hear disgusting, bigoted language from the president.
"We know this is who he is.
"'I urge House leadership, many of my colleagues to take action to impeach this lawless president today."
Ocasio-Cortez said: "Weak minds and leaders challenge loyalty to our country in order to avoid challenging and debating the policy.
"We love this country. What that means is that we propose the solutions to fix it."
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has sought extra protection for House members since the row broke out, reported.
In a letter to the House Sergeants at Arms, Bennie G. Thompson wrote that the Capitol Police Board, which is responsible for security in the US Capitol building, should meet to “analyze the current threat environment and set thresholds for enhanced safety of Members.”
Gang of four: Who are the 'squad' of Democrat congresswomen targeted by Trump
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, 29
The Bronx-born former bartender is the charismatic star of the class of 2018.
She has turned her massive social media following into a measure of power on Capitol Hill.
Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, has clashed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the influence of newcomers.
She's also been courted by some of the party's many presidential candidates, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
To Trump, she tweeted: "Mr. President, the country I 'come from,' & the country we all swear to, is the United States."
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, 36
Omar was a child when her family fled civil war in Somalia in 1991.
She spent years in a refugee camp in Kenya and immigrated to the United States as a refugee in 1995.
Omar became eligible for citizenship five years after the family entered and became a US citizen in 2000.
In the House, she has repeatedly run up against more senior Democrats over her remarks about Israel and what she said was the need to question the Jewish state's influence in Washington.
To Trump, she tweeted: "The only country we swear an oath to is the United States. Which is why we are fighting to protect it from the worst, most corrupt and inept president we have ever seen."
Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, 42
The Detroit native is the first Palestinian American elected to the House.
She and Omar are the first Muslim American women to serve in the chamber.
And like Omar, Tlaib made a name for herself almost immediately after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled the new session of Congress into session in January.
That night, Tlaib was videotaped talking to a liberal group saying of Trump: "We're gonna impeach the motherf***er."
No such effort is underway even now, in large part because Pelosi and other Democrats don't see bipartisan public sentiment for doing so.
To Trump, Tlaib tweeted: "Keep talking, you just make me work harder. I'm proud of my Palestinian roots & a WEAK bully like you never wins."
Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, 45
A Cincinnati native raised in Chicago, Pressley worked for Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy and worked for John Kerry for 13 years while he served in the Senate.
In 2009, she ran for an at-large seat on Boston City Council and became the first woman of colour elected to the body in its 100-year history.
Of Trump's tweets, she responded: "THIS is what racism looks like. WE are what democracy looks like. And we're not going anywhere. Except back to DC to fight for the families you marginalize and vilify everyday."
DOUBLING DOWN
As the women were speaking, Trump again tweeted: "We will never be a Socialist or Communist Country.
"IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE!"
He had already reiterated the remarks, telling reporters attending a speech at the White House: "If you're not happy in the US, if you're complaining all the time, very simply: You can leave."
Photographers were also able captured misspellings on crib notes Trump had written in preparation for the speech.
On a piece of paper, he had spelled Ilhan Omar's name 'Ohmar' and written al-Qaeda as 'Alcaida'.
He had also repeatedly written and underlined the word 'Somalia'.
During the appearance, he said Omar, who with Tlaib is one of the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress, loved the terror group and that she had sought to minimise the 9/11 attacks.
He was referring to a speech Omar gave to the Council of American-Islamic Relations in March of this year that sparked some controversy when it was reported in April.
In the speech, Omar said that the Council had been important after the attacks because "they recognised that some people did something and that all of us [Muslims] were starting to lose access to our civil liberties".
BOJO CONDEMNS
Boris Johnson, currently front runner to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, slammed the president for his attacks.
Speaking at a debate hosted by The Sun & talkRADIO at our London Bridge HQ, he said: "If you the leader of a multiracial multicultural country, you simply cannot use that kind of language about sending people to where they came from.
“That went out decades and decades ago and thank heavens.”
I have three Chinese children and they are British citizens born on the NHS. And if anybody had said to them go back to China I would be utterly appalled
Jeremy Hunt
Tory leadership rival Jeremy Hunt also condemned Trump’s extraordinary outburst.
“I have three Chinese children and they are British citizens born on the NHS," he said.
“And if anybody had said to them go back to China I would be utterly appalled.
“It is totally un-British to do that.
"I would hope that would never happen in this country.”
A spokesperson for Theresa May had earlier said: "The prime minister's view is that the language used to refer to these women was completely unacceptable".
REPUBLICANS REACT
Although most Republicans stayed silent on Trump's divisive rhetoric, several began expressing concern late on Monday.
Texas Representative Will Hurd, the only African-American Republican in the House, told CNN: "The tweets are racist and xenophobic. They're also inaccurate."
Tim Scott, the Senate's only black Republican, criticized Trump in a tweet for using "unacceptable personal attacks and racially offensive language."
Senator Susan Collins, a centrist Republican up for re-election in Maine next year, called Trump's comments "way over the line" and said he should delete them.
None of the top four Republicans in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, made any immediate comment.
Trump's tweets followed days of reported tensions between Pelosi and the more progressive congresswomen such as Ocasio-Cortez.
MOST READ IN WORLD NEWS
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a sometime Trump golf partner and adviser, called the four congresswomen "communist" and "anti-Semitic" on Fox News on Monday.
But he also called on Trump to stop making such personal attacks, saying: "Aim higher ... Take on their policies. The bottom line here is this is a diverse country."
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President Donald Trump denies his tweets about four Democratic congresswomen were racist
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