Racist Attacks on Congresswomen of Color: Trump Told the 'Squad' to 'Go Back' to Their Countries, and the House Voted to Condemn His Remarks
Tier 3Documented2019-07-14 to 2019-07-16
Factual Summary
On July 14, 2019, President Donald Trump posted a series of tweets directed at four first-term Democratic congresswomen of color, telling them to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." Although Trump did not name the targets in his initial tweets, the remarks were widely understood to be directed at Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, a group of progressive legislators known as "the Squad." Three of the four were born in the United States. Omar, who was born in Somalia, became a U.S. citizen in 2000 at the age of 17.
Trump's tweets stated: "So interesting to see 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run." He continued: "Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done."
The "go back to where you came from" formulation has been recognized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a textbook example of discriminatory harassment based on national origin. The EEOC's own guidance has stated that such language "may constitute discrimination" in workplace contexts.
The four congresswomen held a joint press conference on July 15, 2019, in which they condemned Trump's remarks as a deliberate effort to promote a "white nationalist agenda" and distract from substantive policy debates. Ocasio-Cortez stated that Trump's tweets were "a continuation of his racist and xenophobic playbook." Omar said: "This is the agenda of white nationalists."
On July 16, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 240-187 to pass a resolution condemning Trump's tweets as racist. The resolution stated that the House "strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color." Four Republicans voted in favor of the resolution: Representatives Will Hurd, Brian Fitzpatrick, Fred Upton, and Susan Brooks. Independent Justin Amash also voted in favor. The vote marked only the fourth time in American history that the House had formally rebuked a sitting president.
Trump did not retract his comments. In the days following the tweets, he escalated his attacks, calling the congresswomen "a very Racist group of troublemakers" and stating they "hate Israel" and "love our enemy." At a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on July 17, 2019, Trump's mention of Omar prompted the crowd to chant "Send her back!" for thirteen seconds before Trump paused his speech.
Primary Sources
1. Trump tweets, July 14, 2019 (archived and reported by multiple news organizations)
2. H.Res. 489: "Condemning President Trump's racist comments directed at Members of Congress," U.S. House of Representatives, passed July 16, 2019, Roll Call Vote 483
3. Joint press conference by Representatives Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Tlaib, and Pressley, July 15, 2019 (C-SPAN)
4. EEOC Guidance on National Origin Discrimination, Section 13: "Harassment Based on National Origin"
Corroborating Sources
1. NPR: "Congresswomen Denounce Trump Tweets Telling Them To 'Go Back' To Their Home Countries," July 14, 2019
2. NPR: "Trump Continues Twitter Assault On 4 Minority Congresswomen," July 15, 2019
3. Newsweek: "House to Formally Condemn Trump for Racist Tweets Aimed at Freshmen Minority Democrats," July 16, 2019
4. CBS News: "The Squad: What you need to know about AOC, Omar, Tlaib, and Pressley," July 2019
5. Democracy Now: "'Our Squad Is Big': Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Tlaib, and Pressley Condemn Trump's Racist Attack," July 16, 2019
Counterarguments and Context
Trump denied that his tweets were racist, stating: "I don't have a Racist bone in my body!" He characterized the tweets as a political critique of the congresswomen's policy positions, particularly their criticisms of U.S. immigration enforcement and support for Israel. Some Republican allies argued that Trump was attacking their policies rather than their race or national origin, and that the congresswomen had themselves made controversial statements deserving of criticism. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not directly address the substance of Trump's tweets but called for all sides to lower the temperature. However, the specific language Trump used, telling American citizens and members of Congress to "go back" to countries "from which they came," tracks precisely the kind of discriminatory language identified by the EEOC as national origin harassment. Three of the four targeted women were born in the United States, making the suggestion that they "go back" factually baseless and racially targeted. The formal House vote to condemn the remarks was a bipartisan, if narrowly so, institutional judgment that the president's language was racist.
Author's Note
This entry is classified as Tier 3 because the tweets are primary-source evidence created by Trump himself, the House resolution condemning them is an official government record, and the press conference by the targeted congresswomen is part of the public record via C-SPAN. The significance of this entry lies not only in the content of the tweets but in the House's formal rebuke and in the "Send her back" rally chant that followed, which demonstrated how presidential rhetoric can mobilize collective hostility directed at individual public servants on the basis of their race and national origin.