Intolerance inflamed by Trump poses a danger to all Americans, says head of Anti-Defamation League
As thousands chanted “Send her back!” at a campaign rally Wednesday night in Greenville, N.C., the president paused to let it amplify.
He listened for 13 seconds, as the stray shouts stretched into a uniform roar. Some raised campaign signs or fists to the rhythm of the crowd as they yelled. Some only murmured along. A few were children, following the lead of the adults sitting in front-row seats behind President Trump.
“Send her back! Send her back!” they yelled in unison, advocating for deporting Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), an American citizen and refugee, to Somalia, where she was born.
The chanting echoed Trump’s own racist comments on Sunday, when he suggested that four minority congresswomen, including Omar and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” rather than remain in the United States.
But while Trump’s response to the condemnation was familiar — doubling down, with the support of an enthusiastic crowd — Wednesday’s chanting alarmed many observers who suggested that the president’s invective could endanger the safety of the minority congresswomen and feed the country’s ugliest impulses.
“This is the sound of illiberalism, intolerance,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said on Twitter. “Listen closely: it’s a danger not just to immigrants and minorities but to all Americans.” [Continue reading…]
A cult of white supremacists chanting “send her back” in support of Donald Trump’s racist attack on Ilhan Omar. Fascism spreads like wildfire. Especially when it comes from the President of the United States of America. Chilling to my core. pic.twitter.com/mQ0Cy0ffMw
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 18, 2019