The chairman of the House Republican campaign arm denounced the “send her back” chants at President Trump’s Wednesday night rally, saying there was “no place for that kind of talk.”
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) defended Trump against accusations of racism, insisting that there is “not a racist bone in this president’s body.”
{mosads}But he also condemned the thousands of attendees at Trump’s rally who chanted “send her back” in reference to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who was born in Somalia and is one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
“There’s no place for that kind of talk,” Emmer told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor on Thursday morning. “I don’t agree with that.”
Omar has been a United States citizen for nearly 20 years after leaving Somalia as a refugee. The president earlier this week said she and three other U.S.-born colleagues should “go back” to their countries, touching off a storm of criticism, a resolution in the House condemning him for racism and a vote on articles of impeachment.
“What he was trying to say, he said wrong,” Emmer said of Trump’s remarks. “What he was trying to say is if you don’t appreciate this country, you don’t have to be here. That goes for every one of us. It has nothing to do with your race, your gender, your family history.”
Emmer said Thursday he believes having Trump on the ballot next year will help Republicans down ballot, because it gives their base more incentive to turn out on Election Day. He also predicted an “overwhelming Trump victory.”