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Felicia Sonmez
National Journalist in the Washington Post Political Press Team
July 15th
After being targeted by President Trump with racist tweets – after days of reprimands from their own party leaders – four Democratic women members of Congress have chosen to stand together in front of the cameras and defend their vision of the country.
During a hastily scheduled press conference on Monday night, members of the self-proclaimed "brigade" – representatives Ayanna Pressley (Mbad.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) and Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez (NY) – took the floor. The dark and personal terms of their belief in America as a nation of immigrants offering opportunities to women of color as themselves, rather than a country for the privileged. They rejected Trump's "program of white nationalists".
It was a remarkable moment highlighting the high profile of Trump politics at the time: four minority women opposed to directly contesting the story of racist and brutal rude talk from the president, who They quoted in part with a language as formal as formal. in the Capitol.
"It's a president who said," Catch the women by the bad. This is a president who calls son of the black athlete bitch. "It's a president who has called people who come from black and brown countries." is a president who has likened the neo-Nazis to those who protest against them, "Omar said.
Ocasio-Cortez, who is originally Puerto Rican, recounted that her father had taken her to the Reflecting Pool on the Mall when she was young and told her to look around, that the country that was living there was not the only one. she had seen him belonged.
"I want to tell children from all over the country. . . no matter what the president says, this country belongs to you and belongs to everyone, "she said, claiming that Trump was attacking herself and her colleagues because he could not win a substantive debate: "Weak minds and leaders defy loyalty in our country to avoid questioning and debating politics".
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By choice, the four first-year students, standing in front of the American flag, delivered their statements in isolation.
The message created a stark contrast with Trump, who adopted a divisive rhetoric and told the four women on Sunday morning to "return" to their home country – though they are all US citizens and that all but Omar were born in the United States. On Monday, Trump dubbed these comments, telling reporters at the White House that the four women hated America and Israel and even suggested that they were supporting the terrorists.
"The Dems were trying to stand out from the four" progressives ", but now they are forced to kiss them," Trump wrote in a tweet as the women stood from the podium and addressed reporters. "It means that they support socialism, hatred of Israel and the United States! Not good for Democrats! "
Omar, who has been criticized for criticizing Israel over some deemed anti-Semitic Jews, rejected this suggestion, saying that "every statement we make comes from a place of extreme love for every person in this country." . She also compared their actions with the words spoken by Trump.
"It's the program of the white nationalists," Omar said. "He wants nothing more than dividing our country according to race, religion, badual orientation and immigrant status, because that's the only way he knows that It can prevent solidarity on our part from overcoming all of our differences. . . it's his plan to oppose us to each other. "
The four women sought to oppose their proposals – fighting for universal health care and the humane treatment of immigrants, for example – with those of the president. Pressley said the group was "sent here with a decisive mandate from our constituents" and encouraged everyone to reduce the price of prescription drugs, develop affordable housing and combat overcrowding of migrants at the border, for example.
"I encourage the American people and all of us – in this room and beyond – not to bite on the hook," said Pressley. "It is a distracting distraction from the issues of concern, concern and consequences for the American people that we have been sent here with a decisive mandate from our constituents."
The four new legislators mingled with fellow Democrats, including President Nancy Pelosi (California), who denounced their political influence in the House as opposed to their explosive power on social media.
Pressley, in his remarks, made a veiled blow to Pelosi.
"Our team is great," she said. "Our team includes anyone committed to building a more just and equitable world."
This remark, at least for a moment, briefly recalled the ongoing war between Pelosi, the "brigade" and other more moderate members of the House's democratic caucus. Last week, the party traded beards on Twitter and in private meetings. The four supporters repressed Pelosi's measures to isolate them while the speaker's allies defended him.
Trump's attack on the four women created a cease-fire, as the Democrats united to condemn his remarks. The House plans to vote on Tuesday on a resolution condemning the comments. The resolution says that Trump's "racist comments have legitimized the fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color". But below the surface, divisions remain.
At their press conference, for example, two of the four mentioned the impeachment of the president. Representative Al Green (D-Tex.) Suggested forcing a vote on the impeachment before members leave for the holidays of the month of August.
Leaving the room after the press conference, Omar said that she would support such an effort, another bubbling internal battle.
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