US House condemns Trump over 'racist comments' tweeted at liberal congresswomen
July 17, 2019
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to condemn President Donald Trump for “racist comments” against four minority, liberal Democratic congresswomen, a symbolic measure aimed at shaming Trump and his fellow Republicans who stood by him.
The 240-187 vote, which split mainly along party lines, was the culmination of three days of outrage sparked by a Trump tweetstorm that diverted attention from other business in Washington but had little impact on the president’s overall approval rating, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. Trump is seeking re-election next year.
Trump had told the group of congresswomen on Sunday to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”.
All four lawmakers — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — are US citizens. Three were born in the United States.
Democrats, who have a majority in the House, passed the resolution on Tuesday evening, which said the House “strongly condemns President Donald Trump’s racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color”.
Four Republicans and one independent joined the Democrats to support the measure.
Trump tweeted persistently all of Tuesday and late into the night, attacking the congresswomen and defending himself.
"So sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion."
"When will the Radical Left Congresswomen apologize to our Country, the people of Israel and even to the Office of the President, for the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said."
"I can tell you that they have made Israel feel abandoned by the U.S."
"IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE! It is your choice, and your choice alone. This is about love for America. Certain people HATE our Country."
"The Democrat Congresswomen have been spewing some of the most vile, hateful, and disgusting things ever said by a politician […] Horrible anti-Israel, anti-USA, pro-terrorist & public shouting of the F...word, among many other terrible things, and the petrified Dems run for the hills."
"Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!"
The White House did not immediately comment.
Then, in a late-night Tweet, Trump said: “So great to see how unified the Republican Party was on today’s vote concerning statements I made about four Democrat Congresswomen.
If you really want to see statements, look at the horrible things they said about our Country, Israel, and much more.”
Trump’s attacks on the four progressive congresswomen — known as “the squad” — have been viewed as an effort to divide Democrats, who won control of the House in 2018 and have the power to thwart his legislative agenda.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has struggled at times to work with the progressive newcomers in her caucus, staunchly defended them in the debate. After the vote, Omar held a long, animated conversation with Pelosi on the House floor and put her arm around the speaker, the top elected US Democrat.
“These comments from the White House are disgraceful and disgusting and these comments are racist,” Pelosi said. “Every single member of this institution, Democratic and Republican, should join us in condemning the president’s racist tweets.”
Pelosi’s comments put the House into a two-hour limbo after Republicans argued she went too far in her comments and broke debate rules.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy criticized Democrats for remarks that upset the “order and decency” of the chamber, saying: “Today is the day that historians will write about.”
Some Republicans defended Trump’s tweets, like Tom McClintock of California, who said the president was commenting on the patriotism of the congresswomen, not their race.
