Trump says congresswomen he posted racist tweets about should apologise to the US

Donald Trump has launched another attack on the four Democratic congresswomen he targeted in racist tweets last week, demanding they apologise ‘for the horrible (hateful) things they have said’.

‘I don’t believe the four Congresswomen are capable of loving our Country,’ the president wrote in a Sunday morning tweet.

‘They should apologise to America (and Israel) for the horrible (hateful) things they have said.’

He added, ‘They are destroying the Democrat Party, but are weak & insecure people who can never destroy our great Nation!’

The president’s latest tweets came after widespread condemnation of his racist attacks against the four congresswomen of colour – colloquially known as ‘the squad’ – last week.

I don’t believe the four Congresswomen are capable of loving our Country. They should apologize to America (and Israel) for the horrible (hateful) things they have said. They are destroying the Democrat Party, but are weak & insecure people who can never destroy our great Nation!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2019

The US House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning Mr Trump’s racist comments.

Trump tweeted that the four Democratic congresswomen should ‘go back’ to their countries, despite the fact they are all US citizens and all but one were born in the US (Ms Omar emigrated to the US from Somalia as a refugee 23 years ago).

The resolution passed by a 240-187 vote, marking an embarrassing moment for Mr Trump despite carrying no legal repercussions.

The Democrats were joined by Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick, Fred Upton, Will Hurd and Susan Brooks.

‘I know racism when I see it,’ said John Lewis of Georgia, whose skull was fractured at the 1965 ‘Bloody Sunday’ civil rights march in Selma, Alabama.

‘At the highest level of government, there’s no room for racism,’ he added.

Trump supporters at a rally in North Carolina responded to his criticisms of Ilhan Omar, who fled war in Somalia, by chanting ‘send her back’.

Trump and his aides say he is targeting the congresswomen purely because of their criticism of contemporary America.

In remarks on Sunday, Mike Pence, the vice-president, defended Trump but did not reiterate the president’s most controversial comments.

Asked if the congresswomen could be critical of the US and stay in the country, Pence told CBS: ‘Of course they can stay … they’re American citizens.’

However, Trump’s remarks were defended by many others including Rick Santorum, a former senator and presidential candidate.

‘He says things to bring attention to these issues. And I know it’s hair-on-fire time for everybody on the left, but we’re talking about it,’ Santorum told CNN.

While some Democrats echoed suggestions that Trump was setting a political trap, Ocasio-Cortez dismissed concerns that the president was playing what she called ‘3-D racism chess’.

The New York congresswoman said in a tweet: ‘He’s simply an impulsive racist, one who leaves his party scrambling to excuse bigotry and scam the country.’