President Donald Trump has chided his supporters who chanted "send her back" when he questioned the loyalty of a Somali-born congresswoman, joining widespread criticism of the campaign crowd's cry after Republicans warned about political blowback from the angry scene.
In a week that has been full of hostile exchanges over race and love of country on both sides, Trump also claimed he had tried to stop the chant at a re-election event Wednesday night in North Carolina though video shows otherwise.
The crowd's "send her back" shouts resounded for 13 seconds as Trump made no attempt to interrupt them. He paused in his speech and surveyed the scene, taking in the uproar.
"I started speaking really quickly," he told reporters Thursday. "I was not happy with it. I disagree with it" and "would certainly try" to stop any similar chant at a future rally.
The taunt's target Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota responded defiantly Thursday.
She told reporters at the Capitol that she believes the president is a "fascist" and cast the confrontation as a fight over "what this country truly should be."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California declared that the chant has "no place in our party and no place in this country." Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois tweeted that it was "ugly, wrong, & would send chills down the spines of our Founding Fathers. This ugliness must end, or we risk our great union."
In North Carolina, Trump berated each of the four congresswomen and said: "They never have anything good to say. That's why I say, 'Hey if you don't like it, let 'em leave, let 'em leave.'"