A congressman born in Lima, Peru, said President Trump’s tweet suggesting a group of congresswomen “go back” to the countries that they came from has “nothing to do with birthplace.”
As a foreign-born representative, unlike many of the women Trump was likely targeting in his Sunday tweet, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said he hasn’t been told to “go back” by Trump, calling himself a “white male.”
“But I’m a white male of European descent. He’s not going to tell me to ‘go back to my county’. His tantrum has nothing to do with birthplace.” Himes said in a Monday Instagram post, sharing a photo of himself as a second grade student in Colombia. “This country is stronger because of our diversity.”
Trump tweeted Sunday that “‘progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” should “go back.”
The tweet appears to be aimed at a group of freshman House Democrats, including Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). {mosads}
Omar came to the U.S. as a child as a Somali refugee. The other congresswomen were born in the U.S.
Democrats have denounced the president’s tweet as a racist message designed to divide Americans.
He doubled down on his remarks late Sunday, despite the backlash.
Republicans have not come forward to denounce the president’s tweet.