The United States is continuing to reel from the fact that President Donald Trump decided the best use of his time was to relentlessly harass four young women of color newly serving in Congress. This weekend on ABC, House Oversight Committee Chairman and established Trump opponent Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) slammed the president’s behavior as racist nonsense that revives some of the darkest periods of American history, like the struggle against the integration of black Americans into mainstream society some decades ago — which Cummings lived and fought through. In the time since, Trump has gone from insisting those progressive Congresswomen should “go back where they came from” to belligerently proclaiming this weekend that they’re incapable of “loving our Country.”
To be clear — yet again — despite the president’s egomaniacal rambling, criticizing his administration does not equate with criticizing the United States itself. In line with that, Cummings insisted:
‘These are folks and women who love their country. And they work very hard. They want to move us towards that more perfect union that our founding fathers talked about. And now when you disagree with the president, suddenly you’re a bad person! Our allegiance is not to the president. Our allegiance is to the Constitution of the United States of America and the American people, and I can tell you — these are some of the most brilliant young people that I have met, and I am honored to serve with them.’
Watch:
Rep. Elijah Cummings says the congresswomen targeted by Trump “love their country” and want to move closer to the “perfect union that our founding fathers talked about … our allegiance is not to the president. Our allegiance is to the Constitution” https://t.co/3Hpmyqr8Sw pic.twitter.com/OLmv0AVujC
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 21, 2019
Besides the president’s own behavior, there’s been an extra level of scrutiny because at a Trump rally this past week, his supporters burst into a chant of “Send her back!” targeting Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia. Despite Trump’s eventual insistence that he disagreed with the chant, he did nothing to stop it, instead seeming happy to preside over a new expression of what he’d coughed up just days prior.
Cummings shared in response, discussing his part of a racial integration push decades ago:
‘I heard the same kind of chants. Go home! You don’t belong here!.. I’m not the only person of color who has had these experiences. What it does when Trump does these things — it brings up the same feelings that I had over 50-some years ago, and it’s very very painful. It’s extremely divisive.’
Check it out:
Rep. Elijah Cummings says the “send her back” chants remind him of his experience in the fight for desegregation in the 60s: “When [Trump] does these things … it brings up the same feelings that I had over 50 some years ago, and it’s very, very painful” https://t.co/3Hpmyqr8Sw pic.twitter.com/K1EHpNEvcV
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 21, 2019
Cummings also addressed glaring lack of Republican criticism for the president’s behavior, demanding that the tide shift. Only four Republican members of Congress joined with the Democratic House majority in support of a resolution condemning the president telling those women to “go back!” as racist. After the rally chants, one North Carolina Republican Congressman said he “struggled” with the chant while suggesting the real issue lied with the targeted Congresswomen themselves. There’s not an obvious indicator that the tide will shift anytime soon — but here’s hoping.
To some, the fate of American democracy hangs in the balance. Cummings added during his ABC appearance that constituents have told him they’re “scared” of the president, which he says he’s “never” heard before while in office. The Democratic presidential primary frontrunners have essentially all spoken out against Trump’s behavior at this point. Ironically, one of those frontrunners — California Senator Kamala Harris — is a woman of color herself.
Featured Image via screenshot
