Injecting race into his criticism of liberal Democrats, President Donald Trump said four congresswomen of colour should go back to the "broken and crime infested" countries they came from, ignoring the fact that all of the women are American citizens and three were born in the US.
His attack drew a searing condemnation from Democrats who labelled the remarks racist and breathtakingly divisive.
Even as White House officials moved Monday to defend his incendiary weekend tweets, Trump refused to apologise and asked on Twitter when "the Radical Left Congresswomen" would "apologise to our Country, the people of Israel and even to the Office of the President, for the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said." "So many people are angry at them & their horrible & disgusting actions!" he wrote.
Trump had starkly injected race into his criticism of liberal Democrats over the weekend, drawing searing condemnation from Democrats who labeled the remarks racist and breathtakingly divisive.
Asked whether Trump's comments were racist, Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, defended Trump, telling reporters he had been responding to "very specific" comments made by Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who was born in Somalia, and not making a "universal statement."
Even as Short spoke, Trump, who has a long history of making racist remarks, continued to fan the flames, tweeting, "If Democrats want to unite around the foul language & racist hatred spewed from the mouths and actions of these very unpopular & unrepresentative Congresswomen, it will be interesting to see how it plays out."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump wants to "make America white again."
Ocasio-Cortez, after jousting for days with Pelosi, said Trump "can't conceive of an America that includes us." "Mr President, the country I 'come from,' & the country we all swear to, is the United States," she tweeted, adding that "You rely on a frightened America for your plunder."
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, summed up the Democratic response: "Racial arsonist strikes again. Shut. Your. Reckless. Mouth."