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Trump Renews Racist Attacks on Four Progressive Congresswomen

HeadlineJul 18, 2019

On Wednesday, President Trump doubled down in his racist attacks on the four progressive congresswomen of color, calling them “hate-filled extremists who are constantly trying to tear our country down.” Speaking at a campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina, Trump singled out each of the four for verbal abuse, including Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar.

President Donald Trump: “Omar blamed the United States for the crisis in Venezuela. I mean, think of that one. And she looks down with contempt on the hard-working Americans, saying that ignorance is pervasive in many parts of this country. And obviously and importantly, Omar has a history of launching vicious anti-Semitic screeds.”

Crowd: “Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!”

President Trump paused as the crowd around him chanted “Send her back!” before continuing his attack on Congressmember Omar. Trump’s remarks came one day after the House of Representatives voted to condemn his racist tweet telling the four congressmembers to “go back to the crime-infested places from which they came.”

Trump’s tweet appeared to violate federal workplace discrimination law. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “Examples of potentially unlawful conduct include insults, taunting, or ethnic epithets, such as making fun of a person’s foreign accent or comments like, 'Go back to where you came from.'”

Congressmember Ilhan Omar responded to Trump’s attack on Twitter, quoting the late poet Maya Angelou: “You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.”

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