President Donald Trump ignited a firestorm on Sunday with a series of racist tweets on a quartet of Democratic congresswomen, suggesting the four women of color should “go back” to the “totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.”
….and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
UtahPolicy.com reached out to Utah’s Congressional delegation for their response to the president’s tweets.
Democrat Ben McAdams was the only member of Congress to respond to UtahPolicy.com with a statement.
“The president’s tweet was offensive and beneath the dignity of the office he holds. Divisiveness is wrong and distracts from our work for the American people. The more time we spend talking about offensive tweets from politicians the less time we spend finding solutions. Our country has serious challenges and I intend to spend my time working with sincere policy makers from both parties to find solutions,” said McAdams in an email.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney‘s office did not respond when asked for a statement, but Romney did tell a Boston television station who caught him at the airport.
“I certainly feel a number of these new members of Congress have views that are not consistent with my experience and not consistent with building a strong America,” said Romney. “At the same time, I recognize that the president has a unique and noble calling to unite all Americans regardless of our creeds, or race, or place of national origin and I think in that case, the president fell far short.”
2/2 @MittRomney. “At the same time, I recognize that the Pres has a unique and noble calling to unite all Americans regardless of our creeds or race or place of our national origin and I think in that case, the Pres fell far short.” Were comments racist? Answer @NBC10Boston 5pm. pic.twitter.com/6fqxnSvNp6
— Alison King NBC10 Boston (@AlisonNBCBoston) July 15, 2019
Later Monday, Politico congressional reporter Burgess Everett asked Romney if Trump’s tweets were racist.
“A lot of people have been using the word. My own view is: That what was said and what was tweeted was destructive, was demeaning, was disunifying and frankly was very wrong.”
.@frankthorp and I talked to Sen. Romney for a couple minutes pic.twitter.com/x5ckhMf2Uh
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) July 15, 2019
Sen. Mike Lee’s office told UtahPolicy.com on Monday morning that they had not spoken to Lee about the president’s tweets, but would respond “if they have anything to share.”
Rep. Rob Bishop: No response
Rep. Chris Stewart: No response
Rep. John Curtis: No response