Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan called for the impeachment of President Trump during a Monday evening press conference to address Trump’s Twitter tirade that was ostensibly directed at them.
Trump suggested in a series of tweets on Sunday that Democratic lawmakers who were unhappy with the United States should “go back” to the “crime ridden” countries that they came from.
Four female congressional freshmen, who make up the most liberal faction of the House of Representatives and are often referred to as “the squad,” held a last-minute press conference to address the recent criticisms from President Trump.
Omar and Tlaib, who were joined by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, both called for the impeachment of the president.
Omar said that though the notion of Trump’s impeachment had never been the focal point of her political career, she has said from the beginning that the question of impeachment is not “if” but “when.” She summarized her remarks by saying, “It is time for us to stop allowing this president to make a mockery of our Constitution. It is time to impeach this president.”
Tlaib characterized Trump’s tweets as “simply a continuation of his racist, xenophobic playbook.” She further stated, “I represent the third-poorest congressional district in this country … they sent me here, to Congress, to fight back against the corporate assault and the corruption in our country. This means supporting an impeachment inquiry of the president.”
Trump, who has been widely criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle for his Sunday tweets, doubled down on his recommendation that anyone unhappy with the country can leave. He further accused Omar of supporting terrorist group al Qaeda in a Monday press conference at the White House.
