US President Donald Trump on Sunday told unnamed Democratic Congresswomen to "go back" where they came from, prompting senior members of the party to brand him a "racist" and a xenophobe.
It is the latest controversial comment by Trump, who last year reportedly referred to countries in Africa as "shithole" nations, and who has spoken of "an invasion" of undocumented migrants.
In a tweet, Trump referred to "'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen," which appeared to be a reference to a group of outspoken relatively young, liberal women, all first-time members of the House of Representatives. These include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Trump did not say whom he was referring to but said they "originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world."
"That's a racist tweet," Assistant House Speaker Ben Ray Lujan, the highest-ranking Latino member of Congress, said on "Fox News Sunday."
"These are American citizens elected by voters in the United States of America." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned her party to avoid the "menace" of liberal policies pushed by Ocasio-Cortez and the other progressives, if the Democrats hope to beat Trump in the 2020 election. But on Twitter Sunday she criticized Trump's "attack."
Pelosi added that Trump's comments reaffirmed "his plan to 'Make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again."
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