Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) bashed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday after he defended President Trump from charges of racism.
The New York Democrat accused McConnell of being “complicit in advancing racism” after he declined to directly condemn tweets from Trump telling Ocasio-Cortez and three other congresswomen to “go back” to foreign countries.
Trump’s tweets targeted Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). All of the lawmakers targeted by Trump are U.S. citizens, and all but one were born in the U.S.{mosads}
“When you tell American citizens to go back to their country, especially when we are sworn citizens and duly elected by fellow American citizens … that has everything to do with race,” Ocasio-Cortez told ABC News.
“They have targeted four congresswomen of color who are American citizens with a classic line of white supremacy,” she continued. “And they are trying to pivot, and they are trying to excuse it, and frankly the majority leader is complicit in advancing racism in America if he doesn’t even have the backbone to speak out against most basic, basic line.”
McConnell insisted Trump was not a racist when asked about the tweets Tuesday, instead saying that “all different ideological points of view” were guilty of “overheated” rhetoric.
“From the president to the Speaker to freshman members of the House — all of us have the responsibility to elevate the public discourse,” he said.
Asked how he would respond if someone told his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, to go back to Taiwan, where she was born, McConnell said Chao came to the U.S. legally.
Omar, the only target of Trump’s tweet born outside the U.S., also entered the country legally and is a U.S. citizen.
“I think there’s a consensus that political rhetoric has really gotten way, way overheated all across the political spectrum,” McConnell said in prepared remarks.
“Lower all this incendiary rhetoric. Everyone should do it,” he added in response to a question.