Rep. Mike Gallagher was the only GOP member of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to directly address President Donald Trump’s tweets attacking four Dem congresswomen of color.
The Green Bay Republican highlighted a slate of important proposals that will come to the House floor this week and lamented that Trump comments will inevitably mean that “the only questions we will get asked, the only questions that will be debated on TV and social media, will be about tweets we can all agree were wrong.”
“Instead of mean tweeting, let’s do our job and work to fix the looming budget crisis, a broken healthcare system, and a broken immigration system,” he said.
Trump on Sunday morning targeted Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan. Though three of the four women were born in the United States, Trump in a series of tweets called on them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”
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U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Weston, in a tweet thread piled on the criticism of Omar. He said immigrants that he knew were “disgusted” by the Somalia-born lawmaker for her “ingratitude to the nation who rescued her family from an African refugee camp.”
“Unbelievably, her public speeches are littered with statements like, ‘I am ashamed of America’s hypocrisy,’ despite the fact that her story is proof of America’s generosity, goodness, and unparalleled opportunity,'” he wrote.
Duffy laid the blame at the feet of the nation’s schools and universities, which he said are “far too obsessed with America’s shortcomings.”
Wisconsin House Dems, meanwhile, were quick to jump on Trump’s weekend tweets. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus that all four women are members of, was most critical. In a tweet, he fired back that Trump “is unfit to represent the United States.”
“Wonder what Melania (or your previous spouse from another country) would think about your remarks? I wonder what’s different about them and the Squad?” the Town of Vermont Dem asked, referring the women’s self-proclaimed nickname.
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, praised her four colleagues, saying they “work hard to make our country better as lawmakers and it terrifies our President, who is fueled by white nationalism and racial division.”
“We have a racist in the White House and these vile comments go beyond dog-whistling,” she tweeted.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin joined her House colleagues in criticizing the president, tweeting that Trump “fails to see his racist and xenophobic attacks for what they are.”
“His ongoing embrace of division is disrespectful to the office of the Presidency and fails to provide the leadership America needs,” she wrote.
Trump today doubled down on his comments in the wake of a wave of criticism, telling reporters at the White House that condemnation of his comments “doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me.”
Pocan slammed those comment as “a disgrace” on Twitter.
“Fact: racists can agree with a racist,” he wrote.
Spokesmen for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and U.S. Reps. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, and Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, were not immediately available for comment.
See Trump’s tweets:
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……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
See Duffy’s tweets:
Those we invite to our country are not learning much about our greatness once they get here. That’s our fault. We must do a better job as a country and as parents of teaching civics and patriotism to our children.
— Sean Duffy (@SeanDuffyWI) July 15, 2019
See Pocan’s tweets:
Wonder what Melania (or your previous spouse from another country) would think about your remarks? I wonder what’s different about them and the Squad? Hmmmmm…anything? Anything?
Trump is unfit to represent the United States. https://t.co/Fcy9G4Uklk
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) July 14, 2019
Fact: racists can agree with a racist
These remarks from @realDonaldTrump are a disgrace. https://t.co/EfSlFbgDf3
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) July 15, 2019
See Baldwin’s tweet:
President Trump fails to see his racist and xenophobic attacks for what they are. His ongoing embrace of division is disrespectful to the office of the Presidency and fails to provide the leadership America needs.
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) July 15, 2019
See Moore’s tweet:
We have a racist in the White House and these vile comments go beyond dog-whistling. Rep. @Ilhan, Rep. @AOC, @RepPressley and @RepRashida work hard to make our country better as lawmakers and it terrifies our President, who is fueled by white nationalism and racial division. https://t.co/9J9CEI5xeD
— Rep. Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) July 14, 2019