Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday said that President Trump put “millions of Americans in danger” after a “send her back” chant targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) broke out at his rally in North Carolina.
“The president put millions of Americans in danger last night. His rhetoric is endangering lots of people,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Capitol Hill. “It’s not just about threats to individual members of Congress, but it is about creating a volatile environment in this country through violent rhetoric that puts anyone like Ilhan, anyone who believes in the rights of all people, in danger. He has a responsibility for that environment.”
The comments from the New York congresswoman came just a day after a rally crowd repeatedly chanted “send her back” as Trump criticized Omar, a U.S. citizen who fled Somalia with her family as a child.
{mosads}The chants occurred amid a week in which Trump has repeatedly singled out four minority congresswomen. On Sunday, the president said that the lawmakers — Omar, Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) — should “go back” to the “crime infested places” they came from before speaking out about the United States government.
Trump also claimed that the women had come “from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe.” Omar is the only one among the four to be born outside the U.S. They are all U.S. citizens.
The House on Tuesday voted to condemn Trump’s remarks as racist. Multiple Democratic lawmakers have since called for enhanced security for members of Congress in wake of the chants at Trump’s Greenville, N.C., rally.
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said on the House floor that he was planning to introduce legislation that addresses security resources for lawmakers.
“This is an important time in this country. These are dangerous times. Every member of this House needs additional security,” Green said.
Trump has adamantly stood by his remarks about the congresswomen, repeatedly saying that they should leave the U.S. if they are unhappy. He said Thursday that he disagreed with the “send her back” chants.
Asked why he didn’t try to stop the chants, the president said that he “started speaking very quickly” to silence it. Video shows he paused for about 14 seconds after the chants began.