President Trump seeks to distance himself from supporters' 'send her back' chant
Trump denounced the chant at the North Carolina rally, but scolded Rep. Ilhan Omar and the rest of the so-called 'Squad' of progressive Democrats; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.
President Trump on Friday mocked what he described as a “staged” greeting for “Foul Mouthed” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in her home district -- blasting the coverage and accusing the media of forging a “sick partnership” with the freshman congresswoman and her allies.
Trump started his tweetstorm by addressing the controversy surrounding the “send her back” chant started by supporters at a rally Wednesday night in North Carolina. He had distanced himself Thursday from the chant (which was directed at Omar) but on Friday accused the media of showing a double standard in coverage.
OMAR VOWS TO CONTINUE BEING TRUMP'S 'NIGHTMARE' AS HUNDREDS GREET HER IN MINNESOTA
“It is amazing how the Fake News Media became 'crazed' over the chant 'send her back' by a packed Arena (a record) crowd in the Great State of North Carolina, but is totally calm & accepting of the most vile and disgusting statements made by the three Radical Left Congresswomen,” he tweeted.
“Mainstream Media, which has lost all credibility, has either officially or unofficially become a part of the Radical Left Democrat Party. It is a sick partnership, so pathetic to watch!” he said.
The chant was in response to Trump's tweets over the weekend in which he asked why unnamed "Democrat Congresswomen" don't "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." Democrats, as well as some Republicans, blasted the remarks as racist and the House passed a resolution condemning them.
TRUMP DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM 'SEND HER BACK' CHANT: 'I DISAGREE WITH IT'
The president, in the tweets, was referring to Omar -- who was born in Somalia before coming to the U.S. and becoming a citizen -- along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ayanna Pressly, D-Mass. The latter three members of “the squad” of freshman House Democrats were born in the United States.
At the North Carolina rally, he had gone on the attack and highlighted Omar's controversial comments on Venezuela and Israel, and accused her of looking down "with contempt on the hardworking Americans."
On Friday, meanwhile, he referred to footage of Omar returning home to Minnesota, where she was greeted by hundreds of supporters carrying placards at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Trump claimed the whole scene was orchestrated.
“They even covered a tiny staged crowd as they greeted Foul Mouthed Omar in Minnesota, a State which I will win in #2020 because they can’t stand her and her hatred of our Country, and they appreciate all that I have done for them (opening up mining and MUCH more) which has led to the best employment & economic year in Minnesota’s long and beautiful history!”
The Friday tweets were the latest in an ever-escalating bout of name-calling between the president and the freshman Democratic lawmakers. Omar on Thursday said Trump is using “fascist” rhetoric and told supporters she would continue to be Trump’s “nightmare.”
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“The reality is everybody talks about how [Trump] is threatened because we criticize him,” Omar told the crowd at the airport, MPR News reported. “But the reality is he is threatened because we are inspiring people to dream about a country that recognizes our dignity and our humanity.”
“His nightmare is seeing the beautiful mosaic fabric of our country welcome someone like me as their member of Congress,” Omar added. “We are going to continue being a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us.”
Fox News' Lukas Mikelionis contributed to this report.
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