Leave the US says Trump to congresswomen of colour
US President Donald Trump has been accused of racism after posting tweets attacking Democratic congresswomen.
He claimed the women “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe”, before suggesting they “go back”.
The tweet was directed at a group of four congresswomen of colour; three were born and raised in the US while the fourth moved to the US as a child.
The congresswomen – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar, who came to the US as a refugee aged 12 – have all called the president racist, and have been backed by members of the Democratic Party.
What did the president say?
In a three-tweet thread, Mr Trump accused the congresswomen of “viciously” criticising him and the US.
The president did not explicitly name the women he was talking about, but the context – and references to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – made a clear link. He said Ms Pelosi would happily organise for them to leave the country.
“These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!”