President Trump doubled down Monday on his attacks against four progressive congresswomen of color, saying, “if you’re not happy here, you can leave.” He was widely condemned for a tweet Sunday that told the congressmembers to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” The tweets were aimed at Congressmembers Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar—all of whom are U.S. citizens. The four congresswomen spoke out a press conference yesterday. This is Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “Despite the occupant of the White House attempts to marginalize us and to silence us, please know that we are more than four people. We ran on a mandate to advocate for and to represent those ignored, left out and left behind. Our squad is big. Our squad includes any person committed to building a more equitable and just world. And that is the work that we want to get back to.”
The House of Representatives is voting today on a resolution to condemn Trump’s attacks. We’ll have more on this story and from yesterday’s press conference after headlines.