2020 Democrats call Trump’s tweets about female Democrats racist

A wave of Democratic presidential candidates took to Twitter this week to condemn President Trump for a series of tweets suggesting four nonwhite progressive congresswomen to “go back” to other countries “and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday tweeted, “When I call the president a racist, this is what I’m talking about.”

When I call the president a racist, this is what I’m talking about

We must stand together for justice and dignity towards all. https://t.co/lweeJk7NoF

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 14, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) called Trump’s remarks an “un-American” and “racist attack.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) added in her own tweet, “This *is* their country, regardless of whether or not Trump realizes it.”

Let’s call the president’s racist attack exactly what it is: un-American. pic.twitter.com/fDeC5ka01F

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 14, 2019

Let’s be clear about what this vile comment is: A racist and xenophobic attack on Democratic congresswomen. This *is* their country, regardless of whether or not Trump realizes it. They should be treated with respect. As president, I’ll make sure of it. https://t.co/WupieDquLA

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 14, 2019

The series of rebukes from Democratic White House hopefuls came after the president sparked uproar on Sunday morning when he tweeted that unnamed progressive congresswomen “who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

{mosads}Trump did not specify to which lawmakers he was referring, but the comments were widely interpreted as targeting Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). All four are U.S. citizens, and only Omar, who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia, was born outside the U.S.

A number of other Democratic presidential contenders issued similar condemnations of Trump’s remarks Monday as the president dug in on his attacks.

“Trump is obsessed with trying to make American [sic] HATE again,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) tweeted, echoing comments he made Sunday to CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Trump is obsessed with trying to make American HATE again. https://t.co/by2jjc4gtG#RacistPresident

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) July 15, 2019

“More than 24 hours have passed since Trump’s racist attacks on @IlhanMN, @AOC, @RashidaTlaib and @AyannaPressley, and not one Republican has stood up to condemn them. Shameful and embarrassing,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) tweeted Monday.

More than 24 hours have passed since Trump’s racist attacks on @IlhanMN, @AOC, @RashidaTlaib and @AyannaPressley, and not one Republican has stood up to condemn them. Shameful and embarrassing.

— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) July 15, 2019

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro also spoke out strongly against the remarks on Monday on CNN’s “New Day.”

“It’s disgusting, it’s racist…everybody knows that the President acts like a white supremacist,” Castro said Monday.

“It’s disgusting, it’s racist…everybody knows that the President acts like a white supremacist,” 2020 Democratic presidential candidate @JulianCastro says about President Trump’s tweets attacking the progressive freshmen congresswomen.https://t.co/B4W6Mqyq4npic.twitter.com/17u2NCHTfw

— New Day (@NewDay) July 15, 2019

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) called the tweets “racist, un-American and unpresidential,” while Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) tweeted Sunday “The president thinks if you’re not white, you’re not an American,” adding that he believed there was a “constitutional duty” to impeach Trump.

“I don’t know what else to say but Donald Trump is a racist and a criminal and we have a constitutional duty to impeach him,” Moulton tweeted.

This is racist, un-American and unpresidential. pic.twitter.com/00NqWBpaSE

— Tim Ryan (@TimRyan) July 15, 2019

The president thinks if you’re not white, you’re not an American.

— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) July 14, 2019

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) added that Trump’s “racist and xenophobic comments” were “beneath the dignity of the presidency.”

.@realDonaldTrump‘s racist and xenophobic comments this week are beneath the dignity of the presidency. I’m glad to see the House taking swift action to condemn his hateful rhetoric. https://t.co/sDtwpn4R38

— John Hickenlooper (@Hickenlooper) July 15, 2019

Trump on Monday denied he was being racist and expressed no remorse when told that white nationalist groups found common cause with his message, adding that members of Congress “hate our country,” harbor hatred of Jews and love for terrorist groups and are “free to leave” the U.S. if they choose.

Ocasio-Cortez earlier on Monday had slammed Trump for using the “language of white supremacists” in telling a group of Democratic congresswomen that they should “go back” to the countries they came from.