Friday July 19, 2019
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned US President Donald Trump's racist comments about freshmen congresswomen, saying his stance "thwarts America's strength" as a diverse country.
In a press conference Friday, Merkel discussed Trump's remarks, which began with a tweet on Sunday in which he said four progressive congresswomen should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." All four congresswomen are US citizens, and three were born in the country
She said she distances herself from the comments "without question" and that she "stands in solidarity" with the congresswomen Trump "attacked."
Merkel also described Trump's stance as something that "that thwarts America's strength," and said that this strength is that the US is somewhere that "people of very different nationalities have contributed to the strength of this people."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have also condemned Trump's comments, as have other UK politiciansand Ireland's foreign minster, though none have used the word "racist."
Trump's attacks were aimed at Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who are all progressive Democrats, women of color, and vocal critics of Trump.
Trump has only doubled down on his statements despite condemnation of his tweet, saying on Monday that the four congresswomen "hate" America and should leave if they don't like it here.
He denied that he was racist, but said he didn't care about being accused of racism: "It doesn't concern me, because many people agree with me."
Much of his rhetoric has centered on Omar, who is now a US citizen having arrived in the country as a refugee from Somalia in the 1990s.
Trump's supporters chanted "send her back" at his rally on Wednesday, and Trump did not try to stop them. He said on Thursday that he was "very unhappy" with the supporters that chanted, and would try to stop them at future rallies.