Trump complains of ‘crazed’ media coverage over ‘send her back’ chants

President Trump on Friday bemoaned the amount of media coverage devoted to supporters at his Wednesday night rally chanting “send her back” about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as he dug in on his attacks against the first-term congresswomen and three of her colleagues.

Trump fired off a trio of tweets in which he shifted blame for the uproar over the chants onto the media one day after he sought to distance himself from the refrain. He again accused Omar of hating the country and blasted “vile and disgusting statements” made by progressive lawmakers he has attacked for six consecutive days.{mosads}

“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,” Trump tweeted.

“Mainstream Media, which has lost all credibility, has either officially or unofficially become a part of the Radical Left Democrat Party,” he added. “It is a sick partnership, so pathetic to watch!”

The president derided a “tiny staged crowd” that greeted Omar upon her arrival back in Minnesota on Thursday with chants of “welcome home,” and he claimed he would win the state in 2020 after he lost there by roughly 1 percentage point in 2016. 

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…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2019

….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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2019 

The tweets, which came one day after Trump asserted he disagreed with the “send her back” chants, underscored the president’s willingness to egg on the criticism of Omar and her fellow Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) even as members of his own party have become uneasy over the level of rhetoric.

Trump set off a firestorm on Sunday when he tweeted that the four lawmakers, known collectively as “the squad,” should “go back” to their home countries, even though they are all U.S. citizens.

Only Omar, who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia, was born outside the country.

Trump tore into each of the congresswomen during his North Carolina rally and has repeatedly accused them of hating the country in recent days. As he criticized Omar, supporters in Greenville began chanting “send her back!”

The president told reporters on Thursday that “was not happy” with the chant and that he “disagreed with it.”

Trump claimed he “started speaking very quickly” to cut off the chants. In fact, he stepped away from the podium as the crowd grew louder and did not speak again for nearly 15 seconds.

Numerous Republican lawmakers denounced the chants, but some shifted blame away from the president and onto the crowd.

Democratic lawmakers expressed concern for the safety of the four congresswomen and have called for increased security for the lawmakers.

Omar on Thursday addressed Trump’s comments and the chants during an impromptu press conference in the middle of traffic in Washington, D.C.

“I want to remind people that this is what this president and his supporters have turned our country [into] that is supposed to be a country where we allow democratic debate and dissent to take place,” Omar said. “This is not about me; this is about us fighting for what this country truly should be and what it deserves to be.”