Ocasio-Cortez rips into Trump for telling progressive Dems to go back where they ‘came from’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Sunday decried President Trump for telling a group of progressive Democrats to go back to the “crime infested places” they “came from,” saying that his comments showed he couldn’t conceive of a nation in which people like her were elected representatives.
“Mr. President, the country I ‘come from,’ & the country we all swear to, is the United States,” the first-term lawmaker tweeted.
“But given how you’ve destroyed our border with inhumane camps, all at a benefit to you & the corps who profit off them, you are absolutely right about the corruption laid at your feet,” she continued.
Mr. President, the country I “come from,” & the country we all swear to, is the United States.
But given how you’ve destroyed our border with inhumane camps, all at a benefit to you & the corps who profit off them, you are absolutely right about the corruption laid at your feet. https://t.co/HLKQCotR8T
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 14, 2019
{mosads}The criticism from Ocasio-Cortez came shortly after Trump targeted a group of progressive congresswomen, saying they should go back to the places they “originally came from” before speaking out about how the United States government should be run.
Trump also claimed that the lawmakers “came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe.”
“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 is done,” Trump said in a string of early morning tweets. “These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough.”
Trump did not identify the lawmakers. But the remarks came amid a week of escalating tension between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a group of four freshman House Democrats — Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).
Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, before coming to the U.S. as a refugee with her family. Pressley was born in Cincinnati, while Tlaib was born in Detroit. Ocasio-Cortez was born in New York. They are all U.S. citizens.
Ocasio-Cortez said Trump’s remarks show that he doesn’t “believe in an America” where women like her, Omar, Tlaib and Pressley are in Congress.
“You are angry because you can’t conceive of an America that includes us. You rely on a frightened America for your plunder,” she said. “You won’t accept a nation that sees healthcare as a right or education as a #1 priority, especially where we’re the ones fighting for it.”
Ocasio-Cortez later added that “on top of not accepting an America that elected us, you cannot accept that we don’t fear you, either.”
“You can’t accept that we will call your bluff & offer a positive vision for this country. And that’s what makes you seethe,” she said.
You are angry because you can’t conceive of an America that includes us. You rely on a frightened America for your plunder.
You won’t accept a nation that sees healthcare as a right or education as a #1 priority, especially where we’re the ones fighting for it.
Yet here we are.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 14, 2019
But you know what’s the rub of it all, Mr. President?
On top of not accepting an America that elected us, you cannot accept that we don’t fear you,either.
You can’t accept that we will call your bluff & offer a positive vision for this country. And that’s what makes you seethe.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 14, 2019
Several Democratic lawmakers denounced Trump’s remarks on Sunday. Pelosi called the comments “xenophobic,” arguing that Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan is really about “making America white again.”
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