- Over the past week, House Democratic leadership has been openly feuding with four freshman congresswomen of color Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
- Trump poured fuel on the fire with a series of racist Sunday tweets that instructed the congresswomen to leave America and "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
- Graham called the group "a bunch ofcommunists" who "hate Israel" and "hate our own country," further calling them "anti-Semitic" and "anti-America."
- The South Carolina senator avoided criticizing the president and encouraged him to "aim higher," saying, "they are American citizens. They won an election. Take on their policies."
ADVERTISEMENT
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called 4 progressive congresswomen 'a bunch of communists' who 'hate our own country'
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham threw dynamite onto the ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and a group of progressive congresswomen on "Fox & Friends" Monday morning.
lindsey graham
ADVERTISEMENT
Recommended articles
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham threw dynamite onto the ongoing feud between President Donald Trump , a group of progressive congresswomen, and the leadership of the Democratic party in a Monday morning appearance on "Fox & Friends," accusing the group of being "communists" and "anti-American."
Tensions between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the freshman congresswomen Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts reached a fever pitch last week, with Ocasio-Cortez accusing Pelosi of "singling out" women of color after Pelosi criticized the group in an interview with The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.
Trump poured fuel on the fire with a series of racist Sunday tweets that instructed the congresswomen to leave America and "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came," despite the fact that three out of the four were born in the United States, with Rep. Omar coming to America as a refugee from Somalia at a young age.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read more: Trump tells progressive freshman congresswomen to 'go back' to 'broken and crime infested' countries
No congressional Republicans spoke up to unequivocally condemn Trump's comments, with Graham, a Trump ally, encouraging Republicans on "Fox & Friends" to "talk about their policies" instead of where they come from or their personal lives.
"We all know AOC and thiscrowd are a bunch ofcommunists," Graham said. "They hate Israel, they hate ourown country.Calling guards along our border, calling border patrol agents concentration camp guards. They accuse people who support Israel of 'doing it for the Benjamins.' They're anti-Semitic. They're anti-America."
"I think they're American citizens duly-elected running onan agenda that is disgusting,that the American people willreject," Graham continued, referencing policies including government healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants and decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings.
Trump doubled down on his original tweets later Sunday and on Monday morning, accusing the congresswomen of hating Israel "with a true and unbridled passion," and charging that they "that they have made Israel feel abandoned by the U.S," a refrain Graham repeated on the show.
ADVERTISEMENT
"They're anti-Semitic, they talk about the Israeli state as if they're a bunch of thugs, not victims of the entire region," Graham said. "They wanted to impeach Trump on day one. They're socialists. They're anti-Semitic. They stand for all the things Americans disagree with."
Ocasio-Cortez has called the Border Patrol's treatment of migrant children "inhumane' and akin to "concentration camps," and Omar has stoked controversy by saying some Americans have an "allegiance" to Israel; none of the women have expressed hatred of fellow citizens or American values. They contend that standing up against injustice is an American value.
When host Brian Kilmeade asked Graham if he thought Trump "went too far" with his tweets, Graham still avoided criticizing the president and encouraged him to "aim higher," saying, "they are American citizens. They won an election. Take on their policies," of the congresswomen.
Read more:
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also:
ADVERTISEMENT
- Bernie Sanders compares climate change to Pearl Harbor attack as he and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unveil emergency resolution
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faces backlash from activists after quoting Evita, the wife of a Nazi sympathizer
- 'Keep my name out of your lying mouth': Democratic lawmaker puts Kellyanne Conway on notice after reports of party dissent
SEE ALSO: AOC fact-checked Trump's tweet seemingly telling her to 'go back' to 'broken and crime infested' country: I 'come from' the US
FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA
ADVERTISEMENT
Recommended articles
Best live dealer casino: Top USA live casinos online
Best real money online casinos USA: Top 10 casino sites in 2024
OPEC excited about partnership with Namibia
The US loses to Russia and China in popularity across Africa
Top 10 most valuable South African brands in 2024
Africa's giants play tug of war for the top economic spot
Morocco is making giant strides to become Africa's aviation manufacturing hub
Hackers test their ransomwares in less protected regions like Africa before striking richer nations: Report
