Tlaib: Trump’s ‘hateful, divisive words’ can’t be normalized

    By
    Susan J. Demas
    -
    Rashida Tlaib
    U.S. Rashida Tlaib at the Detroit NAACP dinner | Andrew Roth

    After the Democratic-controlled U.S. House on Tuesday voted to condemn President Donald Trump for telling four progressive congresswomen to “go back” to the “places from which they came,” one of his targets — U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) — declared that his rhetoric must not “be normalized.”

    Trump’s racist remarks also were aimed at U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Tlaib was born in Detroit, Pressley was born in Cincinnati, Ocasio-Cortez was born in New York City and Omar was born in Somalia.

    Upton, Amash join Dems in resolution condemning Trump’s racist remarks against congresswomen

    “We cannot allow the hateful and divisive words of this President be normalized, and I thank the House Democratic leadership for their swift action in condemning the President’s racist attacks on myself and three of my colleagues,” Tlaib said in a statement. “The passage of this resolution is not about us or any other member of Congress, however. It is about the millions of Americans who are subject to the hateful and divisive words of the President, a man who sows division and incites violence every day.”

    President Donald J. Trump, Monday, January 14, 2019, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, in New Orleans, Louisiana. | Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour, Flickr

    Tlaib has led the charge for Trump’s impeachment.

    “I look forward to partnering with my colleagues in the House on further opportunities to hold this President accountable for the many insults and crimes he has committed against the American people,” she added on Tuesday.

    The resolution condemned Trump’s “racist comments directed at Members of Congress and passed on a vote of 240-187.

    The Michigan delegation split 9-5, with U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) and U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (I-Cascade Twp.), who recently left the GOP, joining Democrats.

    Trump took to Twitter Wednesday morning to again go after the four members of Congress, writing that “if you hate our Country, you are free to leave.”

    White supremacists have cheered Trump’s racist attacks, CNN notes.

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    Susan J. Demas
    Susan J. Demas is an 18-year journalism veteran and one of the state’s foremost experts on Michigan politics, appearing on MSNBC, CNN, NPR and WKAR-TV’s “Off the Record.” In addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief, she is the Advance’s chief columnist, writing on women, LGBTQs, the state budget, the economy and more. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Farough & Associates, Michigan’s premier political communications firm. For almost five years, Susan was the Editor and Publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, the most-cited political newsletter in the state. Susan’s award-winning political analysis has run in more than 80 national, international and regional media outlets, including the Guardian U.K., NBC News, the New York Times, the Detroit News and MLive. She is the only Michigan journalist to be named to the Washington Post’s list of “Best Political Reporters,” the Huffington Post’s list of “Best Political Tweeters” and the Washington Post’s list of “Best Political Bloggers.” Susan was the recipient of a prestigious Knight Foundation fellowship in nonprofits and politics. She served as Deputy Editor for MIRS News and helped launch the Michigan Truth Squad, the Center for Michigan’s fact-checking project. She started her journalism career reporting on the Iowa caucuses for The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette. Susan has hiked over 3,000 solo miles across four continents and climbed more than 60 mountains. She also enjoys dragging her husband and two teenagers along, even if no one else wants to sleep in a tent anymore.

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