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Trump retweets prominent U.K. Islamophobe, "send her back" supporter

President Trump retweeted a controversial British columnist Katie Hopkins on Saturday as she promoted the "send her back" chants that erupted during his Wednesday evening rally in North Carolina.

Why it matters: After a week of attacking 4 U.S. congresswomen of color, calling for them to "go back," and a similar racist chant at his campaign rally, the president shared the comments of a woman who has long-spewed hateful, Islamophobic speech with his 62 million followers.

  • This is not the first time Trump circulated Hopkins' words on Twitter. He retweeted her mid-June attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Context: One day after saying he was "not happy" about his rally supporters' "Send her back!" chant, Trump said in the Oval Office:

"Those people in North Carolina — that stadium was packed. It was a record crowd. And I could’ve filled it 10 times, as you know. Those are incredible people. Those are incredible patriots."
  • From WashPost: "Trump’s shift ... was reminiscent of how he responded to the deadly clash between white nationalists and protesters in Charlottesville ... He initially denounced the bigotry."

Go deeper ... Focus group: Trump's immigration edge

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