Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her ‘squad’ fired back at Donald Trump on Monday, calling on House Democratic leadership to being impeachment proceedings against the president.
‘It is time for us to impeach this president,’ said Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of Trump’s twitter fury.
‘This is the agenda of white nationalist,’ she charged. ‘He would love nothing more than to divide our country based on race, religion, gender orientation or immigration status, because this is the only way he knows he can prevent the solidarity of us working together across all of our differences.’
Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley – or ‘the squad’ as they call themselves – held a joint press conference on Capitol Hill Monday to fire back at the president’s demand they go ‘back where they came from.’
They accused the president of racism, promoting a white nationalist agenda and vowed to hold him accountable.
‘This means supporting an impeachment inquiry of this president and his actions by his administration and his appointees,’ echoed Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who this weekend repeated her call to ‘impeach the m*fer.’
Rep. Ayanna Pressley charged the president with trying to distract the country from the conditions at the border and the detention facility where migrants are being held.
‘This is simply a disruption and a distraction from the countless chaotic and corrupt culture of this administration, all the way down,’ she said.
Ocasio-Cortez shot back at Trump’s charge that the four lawmakers don’t love the country.
‘We love this country. What that means is that we propose the solutions to fix it,’ she said.
But the four women refused to answer any of the president’s specific charges against them.
Omar, particularly, has been targeted by Trump has accused of her of being a communist and sympathetic to al Qaeda.
‘I will not dignify it with an answer,’ said Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
And Ocasio-Cortez said she would not change any past statements – even if her words gave Trump fuel against them.
‘I don’t think it would have changed anything because first of all, he made statements that were blatantly untrue,’ she said.
And while the president was the main target of ‘the squad,’ one lawmaker did manage to get in a knock at Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s shot at them – that they are just four people.
‘We are more than four people,’ Pressley said. ‘Our squad is big. Our squad includes any person committed to building a more equitable and just world.’
It’s was Pelosi’s knock down of the four young liberal members that started a feud between her and the progressive wing but that internecine battle ended when Trump threw himself into the arena.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her ‘squad’ fired back at Donald Trump on Monday
Rep. Omar said it is time to impeach Trump
Shortly before the lawmakers began their press conference on Capitol Hill, the president took to Twitter to get in a last series of jabs – accusing them of being ‘anti-Israel, pro Al-Qaeda’ and wanting a ‘communist country.’
‘We will never be a Socialist or Communist Country. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE! It is your choice, and your choice alone. This is about love for America. Certain people HATE our Country….,’ he wrote in a series of tweets.
‘….They are anti-Israel, pro Al-Qaeda, and comment on the 9/11 attack, “some people did something.” Radical Left Democrats want Open Borders, which means drugs, crime, human trafficking, and much more….,’ he noted.
‘….Detention facilities are not Concentration Camps! America has never been stronger than it is now – rebuilt Military, highest Stock Market EVER, lowest unemployment and more people working than ever before. Keep America Great!,’ he wrote.
‘The Dems were trying to distance themselves from the four “progressives,” but now they are forced to embrace them. That means they are endorsing Socialism, hate of Israel and the USA! Not good for the Democrats!,’ Trump concluded.
Earlier Monday Trump advised the progressive Democrats who don’t like the way he’s running the country that they can move somewhere else, as he upped the ante against four Democratic representatives.
Trump said the legislators should ‘go back where they came from’ in a controversial message on Sunday that the women are blasting as racist.
He didn’t say who he was talking about, but it was inferred that he tweaking Ocasio-Cortez and the members of her ‘squad,’ including American-born Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley but also Somali-American legislator Ilhan Omar.
He suggested Monday that the women are communists and denied that he was making a racist attack on them.
Responding to a question from DailyMail.com, he at first declined to name names on Monday, but hit Omar by name.
‘Well I don’t mention – I didn’t mention names. And I didn’t do that,’ he said.
He proceeded to say they should leave, if they don’t like it America, as other reporters chimed in to ask where the women, all of whom but Omar, who were born in American should go.
‘If you’re not happy here then you can leave. As far as I’m concerned, if you hate our country, if you’re not happy here, you can leave. And that’s what I say all the time,’ he said. ‘That’s what I said in a tweet, which I guess some people think it’s controversial.’
President Donald Trump says progressive Democrats who don’t like the way he’s running the country can move somewhere else, as he upped the ante against four Democratic representatives, who are also women of color, that he’s been clashing with on Twitter
Trump mocked reporters at the end of the event for asking about the controversy – but he came prepared with notes on Rep. Ilhan Omar, who he attacked for saying that ‘some people did something’ on 9/11 in previous comments
Omar is Somali-American and Trump named her in remarks to reporters as he took questions on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday
Trump is seen through the wheel of a Litespeed Bicycles tire while examining products at the third annual ‘Made in America Product Showcase’
Trump looks at Janus Motorcycles from Indiana as he takes part in the 3rd Annual Made in America Product Showcase on the South Lawn at the White House
U.S. President Donald Trump sits inside a Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptor next to Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson at the event on the South Lawn
Trump waves after signing an executive order during the Monday morning event he was more than 45 minutes late to
President Trump suggested that AOC and the squad could be secret communists: ‘I’m saying that they’re socialists, definitely. As to whether or not they’re Communists, I would think they might be’
He added, ‘A lot of people love it, by the way. A lot of people love it. But if you’re not happy in the U.S., if you’re complaining all the time, very simply, you can leave. You can leave right now. Come back if you want, don’t come back, it’s okay too. But if you’re not happy you can leave.’
Naming Omar as he was pressed on the topic by his press pool the president referenced the Muslim congresswoman’s nationality and claimed she’s anti-Semitic.
‘When I hear the statements that they’ve made, and in come case you have somebody that comes from Somalia – which is a failed government, a failed state – who left Somalia, who ultimately came here, and now is a congresswoman who’s never happy, says horrible things about Israel. Hates Jews. Hates Jews!’ he claimed.
He ripped Ocasio-Cortez as he continued to explain himself, saying, ‘It’s very simple. And if the Democrats want to wrap their bows around this group of four people – one of them kept Amazon out of New York. Tens of thousands of jobs, would have been a great thing, and she kept Amazon from going.
‘Would have been a great deal. I mean, could he have made better? Maybe. But tens of thousands of jobs, and New York has not been the same since that happened. It’s really hurt New York and New York City. Amazon was going to go, they were going to relocate a major section of their business to New York. She kept them out! That was a terrible thing she did. A terrible thing she did.’
Trump continued to unload on the women, bringing up remarks that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham made on ‘Fox & Friends’ earlier that morning about them.
‘Even stronger than what I’m saying. He said they’re Communists. I’m saying, I’m saying that they’re socialists, definitely. As to whether or not they’re Communists, I would think they might be.’
The president did not respond to a question from DailyMail.com in response to the claim about whether he’s saying that Ocasio-Cortez is a communist.
Tlaib had again vowed on Saturday to ‘impeach the M-fer’ at a progressive event, infuriating the Republican president. It turned into an all-out brawl from there, with Trump attacking the women on Twitter, and the legislators slapping back.
It continued into Monday, with the president tweeting about the women, and then attacking them at a South Lawn event, where he was promoting American-made products.
‘When will the Radical Left Congresswomen apologize 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 on Twitter.
‘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. I can tell you that they have made Israel feel abandoned by the U.S.,’ he added.
Trump’s latest volley could be a reaction to Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (left) promise to impeach him and Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (right) perceived attacks on Israel
Trump and several Democratic members of Congress entered a Twitter war this weekend when the president demanded Representative Ilhan Omar and some of her colleagues ‘go back where they came from.’
His attack was seen as directed at Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Alyanna Pressley and Rashid Tlaib – four young, progressive lawmakers who took office in January after winning in the 2018 wave election that gave back control of the House of Representatives to Democrats.
They have dubbed themselves ‘the squad.’
Trump was accused of a racist attack against the lawmakers, of whom only Omar was born overseas. She and her family fled war in Somalia and she is now a U.S. citizen. The rest of the lawmakers were born in the United States.
He has not backed down and opened his new line of attack on Monday, in what could be a reaction to Tlaib’s promise to impeach him and Omar’s perceived attacks on Israel.
Omar and Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
Shortly after she took office, a video emerged of Tlaib at a MoveOn.org event in January, vowing of Trump: ‘We’re going to impeach the motherf***er!’
She reiterated that promise on Saturday when she addressed the liberal Netroots Nation conference.
‘We’re going to to impeach the m*fer, don’t worry. We’re going to impeach him,’ she said to applause.
Tlaib’s fury at Trump came after she and other Democratic lawmakers visited migrant detention facilities on the border and slammed the president for the condition immigrations were being held in.
‘As a nation, we need to realize, we’re going to look back at this moment as a very, very dark time. We are. Not only because of who is in the White House, but more importantly because of the policies, and we’re going to look back and say, what did we do, as a nation to push against this,’ the Michigan Democrat warned at Saturday’s conference for progressives.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has slammed Trump for the treatment of migrants held in detention centers at the border; above, Tliab (center) testifies on the issue with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left) and Ayanna Pressley (right) after their visit to the border
Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley hae dubbed themselves ‘the squad’
‘This is a whole generation of children who will never forget what our nation did to them. They will never forget the trauma.’
And Omar set off a fire storm in February with her suggestion that the Israel lobby was using its resources to buy off supporters.
‘It’s all about the Benjamins,’ she tweeted about the influential group.
She later apologized for her remarks, which critics said were anti-Semitic, and acknowledged that they were wrong.
And, in March, she appeared to minimize the September 11 attacks when she noted a Muslim group was formed in its wake ‘because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.’
An experienced Democratic operative told DailyMail.com that the president was angering Speaker Nancy Pelosi and ramping up his base at the same time.
‘Trump has figured out how to piss off Nancy and get his base agitated at the same time. It’s like a sinister chess game where he’s trying to move both side’s pieces,’ the operative said.
The president hasn’t let up.
In a Twitter rant Sunday night, Trump doubled down on his attacks and claimed the Democratic lawmakers hate Israel, an accusation that will likely incite fury among the GOP base.
‘So sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion,’ he wrote.
But Trump’s attacks united Pelosi and the members of ‘the squad’ in their outrage against the president.
It was a show of unity after the speaker and the four got into a feud of their own.
Earlier this month ‘the squad’ all voted against the $4.6 billion Republican border bill that would provide aide to the border, including migrant detention centers.
Pelosi backed the bill and helped get it through the House after several reports emerged of the horrific conditions migrants faced at certain centers along the border that hold those who crossed the border illegally.
Ocasio-Cortez ranted against the bill on Twitter even as it ultimately passed.
The speaker fired back.
‘All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,’ Pelosi told The New York Times. ‘But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.’
She also lectured Democrats in a closed-door meeting in the Capitol about fighting their battles on social media.
‘You got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it. But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just ok,’ Pelosi said during the meeting, according to a source in the room.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the lawmakers against Trump’s attack after her own feud with ‘the squad’
But after Trump’s remarks on Sunday, Pelosi jumped at the opportunity to defend the four congresswomen
Then Ocasio-Cortez, in an explosive interview with The Washington Post, accused the speaker of “the explicit singling out of newly elected women of color.’
Several black lawmakers defended Pelosi and slammed the liberal New York lawmaker for whining about not getting her way but the internecine battle within the party became forgotten when the president stepped in.
‘Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,’ Trump wrote on Twitter of ”Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen’ on Sunday. ‘Then come back and show us how it is done.’
‘These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!,’ he added.
But the speaker promptly defended her members of Congress.
‘When [Trump] tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to ‘Make America Great Again’ has always been about making America white again,” Pelosi tweeted. “Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power.’
And the lawmakers fought back themselves.
Ocasio-Cortez led the defense of her squad.
Reps. Ilham Omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress
‘Mr. President, the country I “come from,” & the country we all swear to, is the United States. But given how you’ve destroyed our border with inhumane camps, all at a benefit to you & the corps who profit off them, you are absolutely right about the corruption laid at your feet,’ she tweeted.
‘You are angry because you don’t believe in an America where I represent New York 14, where the good people of Minnesota elected @IlhanMN, where @RashidaTlaib fights for Michigan families, where @AyannaPressley champions little girls in Boston,’ she added.
The squad members also had words for the president.
‘Yo @realDonaldTrump, I am fighting corruption in OUR country. I do it every day when I hold your admin accountable as a U.S. Congresswoman. Detroit taught me how to fight for the communities you continue to degrade & attack. Keep talking, you’ll be out of the WH soon,’ Tlaib tweeted in response.
Pressley wrote: ‘THIS is what racism looks like. WE are what democracy looks like. And we’re not going anywhere. Except back to DC to fight for the families you marginalize and vilify everyday.’
And Omar tweeted: ‘Mr. President, As Members of Congress, the only country we swear an oath to is the United States. Which is why we are fighting to protect it from the worst, most corrupt and inept president we have ever seen.’
Omar and her family came to the United States in the early 1990s to escape the war in Somalia. She became a citizen in 2000 when she was 17 years old.
Tlaib is the daughter of two Palestinian immigrants and Ocasio-Cortez’s mother is from Puerto Rico. Tlaib was born in Detroit while Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Pressley is the first African American woman elected to Congress to represent Massachusetts. She was born in Cincinnati.