A CNN panel tried to get former Republican Rep. Mia Love to label as racist President Trump’s tweets suggesting that liberal members of Congress go back to their home country on Monday morning.
In a three-tweet thread Sunday, the president advised that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York , Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts go back to their countries of origin to help them if they are unhappy with the United States.
Love was on New Day to discuss the tweets alongside New York Times’ journalist Frank Bruni and CNN contributor Bianna Golodryga.
“Just to be clear, do you see those tweets as racist?” Alisyn Camerota asked Love.
“Racist is a very — I take that word incredibly seriously. I don’t — I’m not in the president’s head. I do not think that these comments help,” she answered. “I am not going to get into whether he is racist. I don’t think that those comments help him. I don’t think that the comments help his narrative. I’m incredibly frustrated, I continue to be frustrated.”
“Let’s stop dancing around this issue, it’s a racist comment. It’s a racist comment any time somebody says go back to the country from which you came,” Golodryga, who is an immigrant, responded.
“Mia Love said she’s frustrated, Republicans are frustrated, I’m frustrated with that interview. All due respect, I have no idea why she’s dancing around calling these comments racist. She’s no longer in Congress and still seems unwilling to call out the president’s behavior for what it is. Those were racist — no, please, my turn, those were racist Tweets,” Bruni argued.
“Republicans aren’t running away from that tweet or comments in the tweet because they are icky, they are being silent because they fear if they cross Donald Trump he will make it difficult for them to get re-elected. This is a pure political calculation,” she continued.
“I see the bigger issue here. The bigger issue to me is when I go out and see how the world views us, I see the world looking at us tearing each other apart. I’m sorry, don’t tell me how I should feel about what somebody says about me because I have grown up as a black woman in America my entire life,” Love shot back. “I have been taught that I will not allow anyone make me a victim.”
