Trump campaign aide defends tweets: Congresswomen made ‘very disturbing statements’

Former White House aide Mercedes Schlapp defended President Trump’s repeated attacks on four minority congresswomen during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week,”, accusing them of anti-Semitism and pushing a “government-controlled agenda.”

Schlapp, who now works for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, defended Trump’s reaction to a chant of “send her back” that erupted during a campaign rally last week as he attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)

{mosads}“What I’m unhappy about are the chants of the squad,” said Schlapp, the former White House director of strategic communications. The “Squad” is a nickname for the four progressive congresswomen with whom Trump has been feuding: Omar, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

“You’re seeing the squad dictating the rules of the Democratic party … they’re pushing forwards very disturbing statements,” Schlapp told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in the interview.

She specifically cited comments by Ocasio-Cortez describing border detention facilities as concentration camps and critiques of the Israel lobby by Omar that her critics have said invoked anti-Semitic stereotypes.

“They’re fundamentally criticizing the United states, they’re attacking our law enforcement… that to us is very disconcerting,” Schlapp said, demurring when Stephanopoulos pointed out that Trump himself has repeatedly criticized the United States.

Schlapp echoed Trump’s simultaneous defense of the attendees and condemnation of the “send her back” chant, saying Trump “made it very clear he disagreed with the chant and I will tell you, he stands with those people in North Carolina, across the country who support him. And why? Because they love America.”

Trump campaign aide Mercedes Schlapp: “[President Trump] made it very clear he disagreed with the chant and I will tell you, he stands with those people in North Carolina, across the country who support him. And why? Because they love America” https://t.co/3Hpmyqr8Sw pic.twitter.com/53q4T6lXD4

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 21, 2019

Trump has repeatedly questioned the four representatives’ patriotism amid the fallout over the tweets, falsely accusing Ocasio-Cortez of calling Americans “garbage” and on Sunday morning tweeting that the four were not “capable of loving our Country.”