'You're better than that:' Geraldo Rivera hits back at Trump for telling progressive freshman congresswomen to 'go back' to 'broken and crime infested' countries
- Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera fired back at President Donald Trump on Sunday for a series of tweets he sent out earlier in the day.
- Trump on Sunday morning targeted "progressive Democratic congresswomen," - most likely referring to the "Squad" of freshman progressives which include New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar - and told them to "go back" to their "corrupt" and "broken and crime infested" countries.
- "Sad to watch my friend @realDonaldTrump take low road," Rivera tweeted. "Let's stick to issues & steer clear of language that's xenophobic even racist."
- The four congresswomen, along with several other high-ranking Democrats, condemned Trump's comments on Sunday and highlighted the nation's strength in diversity.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera fired back at President Donald Trump on Sunday after he attacked progressive lawmakers and told them to "go back" to their "corrupt" and "broken and crime infested" countries.
In a series of tweets on Sunday morning, Trump targeted "progressive Democratic congresswomen," - most likely referring to the "Squad" of freshman progressives which include New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar - and told them to "go back" to the countries "from which they came."
"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 tweeted.
Rivera responded on Sunday evening and said he was "sad" to watch Trump take the "low road" in his attacks against the freshman lawmakers.
"Sad to watch my friend @realDonaldTrump take low road regarding @AOC of the Bronx, @RashidaTlaib of Detroit @AyannaPressley of Boston & @Ilhan of Somalia & Minneapolis," he tweeted.
"Let's stick to issues & steer clear of language that's xenophobic even racist."
"@POTUS you're better than that," he added.
Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, and Tlaib were all born in the US, while Omar says she came to the country as a refugee from her native Somalia. The four congresswomen, along with several other high-ranking Democrats, condemned Trump's comments on Sunday and highlighted the nation's strength in diversity.
"Mr. President, the country I 'come from,' & the country we all swear to, is the United States," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
"THIS is what racism looks like," Pressley wrote. "WE are what democracy looks like. And we're not going anywhere."
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump's tweet "reaffirms his plan to 'Make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again."
"Let's be clear: Racism and xenophobia have no place in America," former vice president and 2020 frontrunner Joe Biden wrote.
Trump later responded to the backlash, saying that he was "so sad" to see Democrats "sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country."
"Their disgusting language and the many terrible things they say about the United States must not be allowed to go unchallenged," he said. "If the Democrat Party wants to continue to condone such disgraceful behavior, then we look even more forward to seeing you at the ballot box in 2020!"