Trump had attacked four congresswomen of colour on Twitter without naming them. He told the four brown “communists” in Congress that they should leave the US if they are unhappy about the country, although Trump did not name anyone specifically in the original Twitter posts on Sunday.
During a showcase event at the White House, the President told people who disagree with him: “If you’re not happy in the US, if you’re complaining all the time, you can leave.”
In a follow-up tweet, Trump called on the four to apologise for the “foul language they have used” and “terrible things they have said”.
So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
Trump also noted: “So interesting to see ‘Progessive’ Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world… now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government should be run.”
The attack on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) sparked an internal debate on Monday evening about whether Democrats should actually call Trump’s comments racist.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, called out Trump as “xenophobic” for telling Democrats to “go back” and “fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”. Pelosi tweeted before the resolution: “His plan to ‘Make America Great Again’ has always been about making America white again.”
When asked later about white nationalists supporting his statements, Trump casually responded that “a lot of people support this”. The four first-term Congresswomen – out of 435 people represented in the Democratic Party – occupy the lowest ranks in the party.
Despite their low ranking, Democrats rallied around the women, and the House voted with 240 to 187 in favor, denouncing Trump’s statement as “racist”, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in support of the resolution.
Late Tuesday, Trump praised Republicans supporting him on Twitter, saying it was “so great to see how unified the Republican Party” had been on the resolution. He also reiterated his criticism of the four Democratic women.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May meanwhile called Trump’s comments “completely unacceptable”.
Meanwhile, a writer for Mother Jones, Kevin Drum, called for a “race war” against whites after Trump’s remarks.
“So all we can do is try to crush them. What other options are there? Reactionary American whites, as always, won’t give up their power unless it’s taken from them by either a literal or figurative war.
“Liberals need to be as Lincolnesque as possible in this endeavor — we don’t have to win the votes of unrepentent bigots, just the fretful fence-sitters—but we also need to be Lincolnesque in our commitment to winning America’s latest race war.”
A few years ago, Kevin Drum had denounced anti-white bias was a “myth”. Now he is publicly admitting to waging a race war against whites.