Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said on Sunday that President Trump is “stoking white nationalism” after he suggested unidentified progressive congresswomen should “go back” to the places they came from.
“You are stoking white nationalism because you are angry that people like us are serving in Congress and fighting against your hate-filled agenda,” Omar tweeted.
{mosads}Omar, who was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, came to the U.S. with her family as a refugee.
“Mr. President, As Members of Congress, the only country we swear an oath to is the United States. Which is why we are fighting to protect it from the worst, most corrupt and inept president we have ever seen,” she said.
Trump in an earlier tweet said that the Democratic lawmakers, who “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe,” should “go back… then come back and show us how it is done.”
Trump’s tweet did not name lawmakers, but it follows a week of escalating tension between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and four freshmen including Omar, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).
The tweet was swiftly denounced by Democrats, including Pelosi.
Newly independent Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) also criticized Trump’s tweet.