Trump said 'I don't have a Racist bone in my body' as he slammed criticism of his racist tweets
- President Donald Trump on Tuesday continued to reject criticism of a series of racist tweets he sent out on Sunday.
- On Twitter, the president said: "Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don't have a Racist bone in my body!"
- Trump has been condemned by Democrats, world leaders, and a small group of Republicans for his tweets from Sunday.
- The president's controversial tweets called on four women of color who are members of Congress and US citizens to "go back" to their countries of origin.
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he does not have a "racist bone" in his body as he continued to face backlash over a series of racist tweets he sent out on Sunday attacking four lawmakers who are women of color.
Trump also seemed to issue a warning to Republican lawmakers that they would look weak if they voted in favor of a resolution denouncing his tweets announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don't have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show 'weakness' and fall into their trap. This should be a vote on the filthy language, statements and lies told by the Democrat Congresswomen, who I truly believe, based on their actions, hate our Country," Trump said in a series of tweets.
The president then continued his attacks on some of the lawmakers he's been targeting over the past few days: Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
"Get a list of the HORRIBLE things they have said," Trump said. "Omar is polling at 8%, Cortez at 21%. Nancy Pelosi tried to push them away, but now they are forever wedded to the Democrat Party. See you in 2020!"
Trump appeared to be referencing a recent anonymous Democratic poll obtained by Axios that showed Ocasio-Cortez's favorability rating at 22% and Omar's at 9%. As INSIDER previously reported:
- Some pollsters criticized the poll for looking at a small slice of the voting public that is disinclined to approve of the left.
- The poll's methodology and the questions it asked were not made public.
- Progressives decried the Democratic group's move as an attack on the left wing of the party.
Trump's comments on Tuesday came after he fiercely defended his tweets from Sunday, in which he suggested the four lawmakers, all of whom are US citizens, should "go back" to their countries of origin. The tweets played off of the racist "go back to Africa" trope and have been condemned by world leaders, a small group of Republican lawmakers, and across the Democratic party.
On Monday, Trump said he was not concerned the tweets have been widely condemned as racist and appeared to embolden white nationalist groups.
"It doesn't concern me, because many people agree with me," Trump said at the White House.
Eliza Relman contributed reporting.