Trump defends response to rally chant: I did not ‘lead people on’

by Jesse Byrnes - 07/20/19 7:19 AM ET

President Trump on Saturday doubled down on his defense of his handling of a rally crowd this week that chanted “send her back” when he took aim at progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), maintaining that he didn’t “lead people on” and was not “particularly happy” with the chant.

Trump in a tweet also reiterated his praise for the crowd, calling it “very big and patriotic.” The president on Friday afternoon similarly praised those who took part in the chant at his rally in North Carolina, calling them “patriots” after earlier distancing himself from the chant.

“As you can see, I did nothing to lead people on, nor was I particularly happy with their chant. Just a very big and patriotic crowd. They love the USA!” Trump tweeted early Saturday, sharing a tweet that included video of the chanting crowd from his rally Wednesday night.

As you can see, I did nothing to lead people on, nor was I particularly happy with their chant. Just a very big and patriotic crowd. They love the USA! https://t.co/6IVKEffNnq

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2019

{mosads}Trump first distanced himself from the chant Thursday as a number of GOP lawmakers spoke out against it, with Republicans saying they did not want it to become a narrative for the party heading into the 2020 elections. Trump said he disagreed with the audience reaction but has since spoken out in defense of the crowd while blasting what he called “crazed” media coverage of the controversy.

The rally chant punctuated days of political uproar over tweets Trump sent last weekend in which he called on four minority congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from, comments widely denounced by Democrats and a number of Republicans as racist.

All four Democrats targeted by Trump — Omar and fellow Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) — are U.S. citizens, and each was born in the U.S. with the exception of Omar, who was born in Somalia before immigrating to the United States as a refugee.

Omar was greeted by a crowd chanting “welcome home” when she arrived at a Minnesota airport this week.

On Friday, Trump ratcheted up his attacks on the four Democratic congresswomen, who are all outspoken critics of his administration, telling reporters at the White House before departing to New Jersey for the weekend, “I don’t know if it’s good or bad politically. I don’t care.”

“Many people say it’s good. I don’t know if it’s good or bad,” he continued. “I can tell you this: You can’t talk that way about our country. Not when I’m the president.”

Tags Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Ayanna Pressley Donald Trump Ilhan Omar Rashida Tlaib