Overview

Donald Trump's "Go Back" Tweet refers to a written message by United States President Donald Trump in which he implied that four U.S. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Ayana Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were not United States citizens, which they are. He wrote, "Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." The comments received sharp criticism from politicians, media personalities and the public, who found the tweet racist, xenophobic and bigoted. Supporters of President Trump, however, either ignored the comments or defended his statement.

Background

On July 14th, 2019, President Trump tweeted^[1] a series of four three tweets in which he referred to four junior U.S. Representatives: Ilhan Omar (MN), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Rashida Tlaib (MI) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY). Though he did not refer to them by name, the four representatives have recently been the subject of reports about infighting within the democratic party between these four, known colloquially as "the Squad" and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He wrote:

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. 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. 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!

Developments

Democratic Reaction

Many were quick to respond to Trump's remarks as racist. This was due to his singling out four fresh representatives of color and implying that they were not United States citizens. All the members are citizens, three of them born in the United States, and Omar, a Somali refugee, became a citizen as a teenager.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to the tweet^[2] by writing, "When @realDonaldTrump tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to “"Make America Great Again":/memes/make-america-great-again” has always been about making America white again. Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power. I reject @realDonaldTrump’s xenophobic comments meant to divide our nation. Rather than attack Members of Congress, he should work with us for humane immigration policy that reflects American values. Stop the raids – #FamiliesBelongTogether!" The post received more than 165,000 likes, 44,000 retweets and 35,000 comments in 24 hours (shown below, left).

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted,^[3] "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." The initial post received more than 325,000 likes, 75,000 retweets and 16,000 comments in 24 hours (shown below, center).

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley tweeted,^[4] "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." The tweet received more than 127,000 likes, 27,000 retweets and 5,000 comments in 24 hours (shown below, right).

Congresswoman Omar tweeted,^[5] "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. You are stoking white nationalism bc you are angry that people like us are serving in Congress and fighting against your hate-filled agenda." The initial tweet received more than 355,000 likes, 76,000 retweets and 23,000 comments in 24 hours (shown below).

Republican Response

Appearing on the Fox morning show Fox and Friends, Senator Lindsey Graham defended the president. He said, "Well, we all know that [New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and this crowd are a bunch of communists, they hate Israel, they hate our own country. They're calling the guards along our border, the border patrol agents, 'concentration camp guards.' They accuse people who support Israel of doing it for the Benjamins. They're anti-Semitic. They're anti-America."

Fox News Analyst Brit Hume tweeted,^[6] "Trump’s 'go back' comments were nativist, xenophobic, counterfactul and politically stupid. But they simply do not meet the standard definition of racist, a word so recklessly flung around these days that its actual meaning is being lost." The tweet received more than 11,000 comments, 6,000 likes and 3,000 retweets, making it the subject of a Twitter Ratio.

Kellyanne Conway's "What Ethnicity Are You?" Question

The following day, White House couselor Kellyanne Conway took questions regarding the president's remarks. Breakfast media reporter Andrew Feinberg asked Conway to elaborate on what countries the president was referring to when he sent the tweet (shown below). She responded by asking "What's your ethnicity?"

Feinberg tweeted,^[7] following a brief back-and-forth, "JUST NOW: I asked @KellyannePolls, who’d just said @realDonaldTrump was not telling Omar/Tlaib/Pressley/AOC to go back to Somalia/Gaza/Puerto Rico/etc, which countries he was referring to. She responded by asking me where my ancestors came from, thereby confirming what he meant." The tweet received more than 62,000 likes, 17,000 retweets and 3,000 comments in 24 hours (shown below).

Conway responded to the tweet,^[8] "This was meant with no disrespect. We are all from somewhere else “originally”. I asked the question to answer the question and volunteered my own ethnicity: Italian and Irish. Like many, I am proud of my ethnicity, love the USA & grateful to God to be an American." The tweet received more than 25,000 likes, 24,000 comments and 5,000 retweets in 24 hours (shown below).

Following the spread of the video, people commented on the question, some of which related to Feinberg's experience. Twitter^[9] user @AishaS tweeted, "My entire life countless white woman have asked me: 'What's your ethnicity?' 'Where are you really from?' 'Where is your family from?' But never a government official when I'm asking a question as a reporter. #BeBest, Kellyanne Conway." The tweet received more than4,100 likes and 900 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, left).

Twitter user @lisang tweeted,^[10] "I mean, just for context, would Kellyanne Conway have asked a reporter name McCain or Jones what his ethnicity was? No way." The tweet received more than 3,100 likes and 370 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, right).

Trump's Defense

On July 16th, President Trump defended his tweets, claiming that they were not racist. He wrote,^[11] "Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show 'weakness' and fall into their trap. This should be a vote on the filthy language, statements and lies told by the Democrat Congresswomen, who I truly believe, based on their actions, hate our Country. Get a list of the HORRIBLE things they have said. Omar is polling at 8%, Cortez at 21%. Nancy Pelosi tried to push them away, but now they are forever wedded to the Democrat Party. See you in 2020!" The tweet received more than 180,000 likes, 75,000 comments and 40,000 retweets in 24 hours (shown below).

House Resolution to Condemn Tweets

That day, the House of Represenatives voted to condemn the president's tweets, passing mostly along party lines at 240 to 187. It is the first time the House has rebuked a president in more than 100 years, according to the New York Times.^[12] The resolution states:

Whereas President Donald Trump’s racist comments have legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) believes that immigrants and their descendants have made America stronger, and that those who take the oath of citizenship are every bit as American as those whose families have lived in the United States for many generations;

(2) is committed to keeping America open to those lawfully seeking refuge and asylum from violence and oppression, and those who are willing to work hard to live the American Dream, no matter their race, ethnicity, faith, or country of origin; and

(3) strongly condemns President Donald Trump’s racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color by saying that our fellow Americans who are immigrants, and those who may look to the President like immigrants, should “go back” to other countries, by referring to immigrants and asylum seekers as “invaders,” and by saying that Members of Congress who are immigrants (or those of our colleagues who are wrongly assumed to be immigrants) do not belong in Congress or in the United States of America.

The resolution was met with much criticism from House Republicans, who attempted to strike the words "racist" from the condemnation, particularly after Speaker Pelosi referred to the president's comments as "racist" in her remarks (shown below).

Following her remarks, House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted,^[13] "BREAKING NEWS --> Speaker Pelosi just broke the rules of the House, and is no longer permitted to speak on the floor of the House for the rest of the day. The facts are clear: the House rules of order and decency were broken by the very person tasked with upholding them--the Speaker of the House. But just now, Democrats voted to ignore the rules and give special treatment to one of their own."

Search Interest

External References