Resolution introduced in the House of Representatives condemning Trump's 'racist comments' directed at progressive freshman lawmakers
- A resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday condemning President Donald Trump for his "racist comments" made against progressive freshman congresswomen.
- The resolution, introduced by freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, comes in response to a series of tweets published by Trump on Sunday, in which he targeted progressive lawmakers and told them to "go back" to their "corrupt" and "broken and crime infested" countries.
- "President Donald Trump's racist comments have legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color," the resolution states.
- Trump defended his tweets on Monday, saying he wasn't concerned with backlash because "many people agree with me."
A resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday condemning President Donald Trump for his "racist comments" made against progressive freshman congresswomen.
The resolution, introduced by freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, is likely to be voted on by the House on Tuesday, Malinowski wrote on Twitter.
"It will ask all members to choose: do we embrace President Reagan's vision of an America made stronger by immigrants and refugees, or President Trump's message of fear?" Malinoswki wrote.
The resolution "strongly condemns" Trump for tweets he published on Sunday, in which he called "progressive Democratic congresswomen" - assumed to be referring to the "squad" of freshman progressives, which include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar - to "go back" to their "corrupt" and "broken and crime infested" countries.
"Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it's done," Trump said of the congresswomen.
Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, and Tlaib were all born in the US, while Omar came to the country as a refugee from her native Somalia and is now an American citizen. The four congresswomen, along with several other high-ranking Democrats and a handful of Republican lawmakers, condemned Trump's comments on Sunday and highlighted the nation's strength in diversity.
The resolution, titled "Condemning President Trump's racist comments directed at Members of Congress," explicitly calls out Trump for his Sunday tweets.
"President Donald Trump's racist comments have legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color," the resolution states.
The resolution also calls on the House to recognize immigrants and their descendants as "every bit as American as those whose families have lived in the United States for many generations," and asks the House to commit to "keeping America open" to immigration and asylum seekers no matter their race or ethnicity. The bill is currently in committee.
Trump defended his tweets on Monday, saying he wasn't concerned with backlash calling his comments racist.
"It doesn't concern me, because many people agree with me," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"And all I'm saying: They want to leave, they can leave. Now, it doesn't say leave forever - it says leave if you want," he added.