Jul 15, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Trump on his racist tweets: "If you’re not happy here, you can leave"

Marisa Fernandez

President Trump dug in further Monday as he defended his tweets attacking freshman congresswomen of color, denying that they were racist.

The big picture: During his comments at the White House, Trump again said that he didn't specifically name anyone in his tweets, despite the fact that four progressive Democratic congresswomen of color — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley — have made headlines for clashing with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Trump's Sunday tweets that kicked off the controversy implied that the congresswomen weren't born in the U.S., saying they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
Only Omar was born outside of the U.S., immigrating from Somalia and becoming a citizen in 2000. Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Pressley are natural-born citizens.

What he said today:

"If somebody has a problem with our country, if somebody doesn't want to be in our country, they should leave."
"These are people that hate our country.... When they hear the way they talk about our country and, when I hear the anti-Semitic language that they use, I do not believe this is good for the Democratic Party. Certainly, not the party I have known over the years."
Trump also brushed off concern that the tweets were viewed as racist because he said that many people agree with him.

Go deeper: House Democrats condemn Trump's racist tweets

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Trump on his racist tweets: "If you’re not happy here, you can leave"

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