Donald Trump doubled down in his defense of purported racist tweets over the weekend, telling congresswomen of color born in the United States to go back to their “original” countries. However, the president is reportedly furious that other top Republicans refuse to mount as aggressive a defense.
Trump drew bipartisan criticism over the weekend with the tweets decried by both sides of the aisle as racist, Time noted, taking aim at a group of Democratic congresswomen of color. The president continued to defend his statements against accusations of racism, even as Republican senators vulnerable to lose their seats in the 2020 election have backed away.
As Politico reported, Trump has let this group know he’s not happy about their refusal to defend his words.
“In fact, Trump has already been angry about what he sees as a weak defense by Republican members of Congress and has informed at least two lawmakers of his dissatisfaction, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter,” the report noted. “That reaction explains the ginger response to Trump by Republicans up for reelection in difficult races, who are caught between condemning the president’s words and facing his wrath.”
Some Republicans have outright criticized Trump, including Maine Senator Susan Collins who called on Trump to delete the tweet. Others, including Colorado Senator Cory Gardner and Arizona Senator Martha McSally, both up for re-election in swing states, have offered more lukewarm criticism or refused to speak on the matter. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa agreed with others that Trump’s tweets telling four congresswomen — three of whom were born in the United States and the fourth a naturalized citizen — to go back to their original countries were racist.
But Ernst made it clear that she is still behind Trump.
“I’d love for you to make that clear. While I don’t appreciate the tweets, but I still support the president,” Ernst said on Tuesday.
Democrats have seized on the comments as well, with party leadership and many political groups leveling new accusations of racism against Trump.
“These outbursts by the president aren’t just ‘inappropriate,’ ‘divisive’ and ‘xenophobic,’ all words used by the small minority of fellow Republicans who condemned the attacks. They are poison to our democracy.” #RacistInChief https://t.co/i1rflRkxHD
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) July 17, 2019
As Donald Trump reportedly demands that Republicans defend his tweet, a new poll shows that a majority of Americans are not behind Trump. A USA Today /Ipsos poll showed that a clear majority say Trump’s tweets were “un-American,” with 68 percent saying the tweets were offensive. The findings followed sharply along partisan lines, with 57 percent of Republicans saying they agreed with the tweet, with one-third saying they “strongly” agreed.
