‘THIS is what racism looks like’: How Ayanna Pressley and her Massachusetts colleagues are responding to Trump’s attacks on 4 congresswomen of color
Without naming them, President Donald Trump suggested on Twitter that the congresswomen, all of whom are American citizens, should go back to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
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updated at 9:57 AM
Massachusetts politicians are roundly condemning President Donald Trump’s attacks on four liberal Democrats, including Rep. Ayanna Pressley, as blatantly racist and xenophobic.
Trump tweeted Sunday that the congresswomen of color should go back to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” writing that they “can’t leave fast enough.”
While he didn’t mention them by name, Trump was almost certainly referring to Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — the group of first-term congresswomen known as the “Squad.” All four are American citizens, and only Omar, from Somalia, is foreign-born.
Trump’s Sunday attack followed an earlier insertion of the president into a back-and-forth between Ocasio-Cortez and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And on Monday, Trump called for the congresswomen to “apologize.”
Trump’s comments have drawn widespread condemnation from Democrats, including from Pelosi.
“THIS is what racism looks like,” Pressley tweeted, adding that she and her colleagues aren’t “going anywhere. Except back to DC to fight for the families you marginalize and vilify everyday.”
Several Massachusetts congressional delegates and other Bay State politicians have had her back including: