National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Tom Emmer condemned the “send her back” chants from President Trump’s rally but defended the president himself on Thursday.
During Trump’s Wednesday night rally in North Carolina, the crowd broke out into a “send her back!” rally cry as the president addressed Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. It was the latest in a string of verbal attacks against four progressive freshmen congresswomen.
“I didn’t watch the rally last night, but there’s no place for that kind of talk,” Emmer said while speaking at a breakfast with journalists hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, according to Politico. “I don’t agree with it.”
He was asked if the chant was racist and simply said it was “not acceptable.”
Despite his condemnation of the chant, Emmer did not criticize the president for his role in starting this ongoing debacle. The feud began over the weekend when the president urged a group of freshman Democratic minority congresswomen to go back to their native countries if they’re unhappy with the state of America. Many have accused the comments to be racist.
“There’s not a racist bone in this president’s body,” Emmer said. “What he was trying to say, he said wrong. What he was trying to say is that if you don’t appreciate this country, you don’t have to be here. That goes for every one of us. That has nothing to do with your race, your gender, your family history. It has to do with respecting and loving your country.”
