Democratic congresswomen targeted by Trump fire back

Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley.

(Image credit: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

published 15 July 2019

The four progressive Democratic lawmakers targeted by President Trump in a series of racist tweets over the weekend held nothing back during a press conference on Monday.

"We can continue to enable this president and report on the bile of garbage that comes out of his mouth, or we can hold him accountable for his crimes," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said. "It is time for us to stop allowing this president to make a mockery out of our constitution. It is time to impeach this president."

On Sunday, Trump referenced Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Omar in several tweets, saying they "originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe" and the women needed to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, and Pressley were all born in the U.S.; Omar's family fled Somalia more than 20 years ago, and she is now a naturalized U.S. citizen.

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Pressley said Trump's remarks — which he refused to apologize for on Monday — are "simply a disruption and a distraction from the callous, chaotic, and corrupt culture of this administration. I encourage the American people and all of us in this room and beyond not to take the bait." As for Ocasio-Cortez, she believes Trump "does not know how to defend his policies and so what he does is attack us personally."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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