President Donald Trump excoriated several unnamed Democratic lawmakers on Monday, calling on them to apologize to the US, to Israel, and to the “office of the presidency”.
“When will the Radical Left Congresswomen apologize to our Country, the people of Israel and even to the Office of the President, for the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said,” Trump tweeted. “So many people are angry at them & their horrible & disgusting actions!”
“If Democrats want to unite around the foul language & racist hatred spewed from the mouths and actions of these very unpopular & unrepresentative Congresswomen, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. I can tell you that they have made Israel feel abandoned by the U.S.”
Later on Monday, Trump tweeted a quote from South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, blasting the unnamed "radical Left Congresswomen" as "anti-Semitic," and "anti-America".
“We all know that AOC 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 as doing it for the Benjamin’s. they are Anti-Semitic, they are Anti-America, we don’t need to know anything about them personally, talk about their policies. I think they are American citizens who are duly elected that are running on an agenda that is disgusting, that the American people will reject."
"What does it mean for America to have free Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants, no criminalization of coming into our Country - See how that works for controlling Immigration! They talk about Israel like they’re a bunch of thugs, not victims of the entire region. They wanted to impeach President Trump on DAY ONE. Make them the face of the future of the Democrat Party, you will destroy the Democrat Party. Their policies will destroy our Country!” @LindseyGrahamSC Need I say more?"
The tweets were the latest in a series of social media comments targeting a group of unnamed Democratic congresswoman, likely referring to Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), Rashida Tlaib (Michigan), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) and Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts).
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair, praised Trump for the comment, calling him the “best friend” the Jewish people have had in a president.
“Thank you so much! You are the best friend the Jewish people ever had in the White House!”
On Monday, the president ripped the group of unnamed Democratic congresswomen and blasted the Democratic party establishment for ‘condoning’ the “disgraceful behavior”.
“So sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion. Whenever confronted, they call their adversaries, including Nancy Pelosi, ‘RACIST.’ Their disgusting language and the many terrible things they say about the United States must not be allowed to go unchallenged. If the Democrat Party wants to continue to condone such disgraceful behavior, then we look even more forward to seeing you at the ballot box in 2020!”
Ocasio-Cortez has come under fire after saying the United States operated "concentration camps" on its southern border, she previously said that cutting military and economic aid to Israel as a way to signal opposition to Israeli policies should be “on the table.”
Omar was criticized after she suggested on Twitter that Republicans were attacking her at the behest of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. She subsequently issued a half-hearted apology before ultimately deleting the controversial tweets.
Tlaib claimed in an interview in May that Palestinian Arabs living in the British Mandate prior to the establishment of the State of Israel “provided” a safe haven to Jews after the Holocaust.
She has also backed BDS and, when asked in a past television interview whether she would vote against military aid to Israel when she goes to Congress, replied “absolutely.”
The tensions within the party escalated after Ocasio-Cortez told the Washington Post that she felt Pelosi was targeting women of color, though the New York Democrat said she doesn't believe the Speaker is racist.