Republicans returned to the Capitol Monday to grapple with questions about President Trump’s tweet urging four minority liberal freshman women to “go back” to where they came from.
While many frowned on the tweet, others insisted Trump’s missive was not racially motivated.
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“He’s not racist,” Rep. Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, a close ally of the president, told the Washington Examiner. “I probably talk to him more than anyone else and I can tell you he is certainly not a racist.”
Republicans said the president is frustrated Congress will not act on immigration reform or the nation’s asylum laws while hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants flood the southern border.
“I think the president’s frustration is he wants the Congress to act to make sure we can solve this problem,” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, said.
Trump in a Sunday tweet called for Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done.”
His tweet was in response to their criticism of the Trump administration’s plans to begin deporting illegal immigrants.
McCarthy dismissed the claim by Democrats that Trump is a racist based on various comments throughout his presidency.
One reporter pointed to Trump’s comments following the 2017 riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, which pitted antifa against white nationalists. At the time, Trump defended “both sides” of the fight, although he condemned the racist acts there.
McCarthy said Democrats are suffering from their own internal strife, including claims by the same “squad” of freshmen that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is targeting women of color with her criticism.
“This same group said Nancy Pelosi is a racist and I don’t think she’s a racist either,” McCarthy responded.
Across the Capitol, GOP senators were more critical.
“It was a poor choice of words,” Sen. John Kennedy said. “I don’t know why he had to say anything anyway. Arguing with with a fool just proves there are two.”
Republicans said Trump managed to hijack a news cycle that was laser-focused on internal Democratic strife.
Trump made the tweet on Sunday, just as liberal and moderate Democrats were attacking each other on twitter.
Now the attention is focused firmly on the president and everyone has forgotten the war among Democrats.
“I don’t know why the president had to weigh in on this,” Kennedy said.
Sen. Joni Ernst, a member of the GOP leadership, rushed past reporters Monday who queried her about Trump’s tweet.
“It wasn’t helpful,” she said before escaping into the Senate subway.
Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, the only African American GOP senator, issued a lengthy statement against Trump’s tweet, which he prefaced by criticizing the Democratic liberal wing for anti-Israel comments and advocacy of anti-law enforcement and pro-socialist policies.
Trump, Scott said, “interjected with unacceptable personal attacks and racially offensive language.”
Trump has not backed down from the tweet. He said Monday the four liberal freshmen hate the United States and are “free to leave if they want.”
Republican senators wish he would end the fight and focus on policy, they told reporters.
Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, a frequent critic of the president, said Trump “failed very badly yesterday and today,” and said it was “unfortunate for the country.”
