Michelle Obamais seemingly weighing in on the controversy around PresidentDonald Trump‘s racist remarks.
Close to one week after the president sharedseveral offensive tweetsabout the four congresswomen of color, the former first lady, 55, provided her own input about what makes America so special in a message on Twitter.
Appearing to defend the four politicians — Rep.Ilhan Omarof Minnesota, Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezof New York, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — Obama reminded her followers that the U.S. was for everyone, not just those who were born here.
“What truly makes our country great is its diversity,”she tweetedFriday. “I’ve seen that beauty in so many ways over the years. Whether we are born here or seek refuge here, there’s a place for us all.”
“We must remember it’s not my America or your America,” she added. “It’s our America.”
Mrs. Obama’s message seems to allude to Trump’s initial tweets from Sunday where he ripped into thefour lawmakers,known as the “Squad”,and told them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came” despite the majority of the women being born in America.
The representatives, who support progressive policies such as Medicare-for-all and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, regularly criticize the president’s administration and have called for his impeachment.
Things escalated on Wednesday night whenTrump supporters began a “send her back” chantwhile the president, 73, was speaking about Omar, one of the first Muslims to be elected to Congress, at a rally in North Carolina.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Gary Miller/Getty Images
“I am where I belong, at the people’s house and you’re just gonna have to deal!” theMinnesota politician, 37, stated on Wednesday evening, alongside a photo of herself wearing a hijab as she sits on the House floor.
In a separate tweet, Omar showed her resilience, yet again, andquoted Maya Angelou.“You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise,” she wrote.
A day after the disheartening incident, Trump spoke to reporters and claimed thathe did not agree with the chantand even tried to stop it, despite video showing otherwise.
Rep. Ilhan Omar.KEREM YUCEL/AFP/Getty
“I was not happy with it. I disagree with it. I didn’t say that, they did,” he told reporters from the White House. “It was quite a chant … I felt a little bit badly about it.”
Trump also said he “started speaking very quickly” in order to cut his supporters short, though video showed he stopped speaking for more than 10 seconds as attendees chanted.
He has continued to defend his inflammatory remarks, instead, pointing to what he says is “vile” rhetoric on the part of the four congresswomen, whom he said “hate” America.
‘The Squad’: Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.J Scott Applewhite/AP/Shutterstock
On Tuesday, hours before the House of Representatives took the rare step of formally condemning his tweets, Trump tweeted, “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!”
He also previously said the backlash “doesn’t concern me, because many people agree with me. All I’m saying is if they want to leave, they can leave now.”
source: people.com
