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'Go Back' Tweets and the 'Send Her Back' Chant: The House Condemns the President's Racist Attack on Four Congresswomen

Trump told four congresswomen of colour, all American citizens, to 'go back' to the countries they 'originally came from'. The House formally condemned the tweets as racist. Two days later a rally crowd chanted 'Send her back!' about Rep. Ilhan Omar while the President let it run.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 1 of 5: Significant Democratic Concern

International crime

No international crime alleged

Actions that weaken democratic institutions, suppress political participation, or restrict fundamental freedoms without reaching the threshold of a rights violation attributable to a specific victim class. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, D.C., and Greenville, North Carolina
Category
Civil Rights
Legal posture
Documented
ICC relevance
No
Sources
7 cited
Stable ID
squad-go-back-tweets-send-her-back-2019
Legal basis
ICERD Articles 2(1)(a) and 4(c) (no public authority may promote racial discrimination; subject to US reservation); the House resolution of July 16, 2019 formally condemning the comments
Posture note
Documented statements, formally condemned by the House of Representatives on July 16, 2019. No legal proceeding followed.
Victims
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar, sitting members of Congress targeted by the President on the basis of their perceived foreign origin
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, President of the United States; author of the tweets and the rally speech— White House

Key points

  • July 14, 2019: Trump tweeted that 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen 'who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe' should 'go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done' (BBC).
  • The targets were Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar. Three were born in the United States; Omar came to the US as a refugee aged 12 (BBC; Al Jazeera).
  • July 16, 2019: the House voted 240–187, with four Republicans in favour, for a resolution that 'strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color' (CBS News).
  • July 17, 2019: at a Greenville, North Carolina rally, the crowd chanted 'Send her back!' at Omar. As the chant intensified, Trump paused and 'did nothing apparent to discourage the crowd' (The Sydney Morning Herald; NBC News).
  • On July 18 Trump said 'I was not happy with it — I disagreed with it' and falsely claimed he had tried to stop it. A day later he called the rally crowd 'incredible people' and 'incredible patriots' (Al Jazeera).
  • Omar had earlier reported an increase in death threats after Trump tweeted an edited video about her earlier in 2019 (Al Jazeera).

What happened

On Sunday, July 14, 2019, President Trump tweeted: "So interesting to see 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly 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 it is done."

The tweets were aimed at four first-term Democrats: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar. All are American citizens. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx, about 12 miles from the Queens hospital where Trump was born. Tlaib and Pressley were also born in the United States. Omar came to the United States as a refugee from Somalia at 12 (BBC; Al Jazeera).

On July 16 the House adopted a resolution, 240 to 187, that "strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color by saying that our fellow Americans who are immigrants, and those who may look to the President like immigrants, should 'go back' to other countries." Every Democrat and four Republicans voted for it. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, asked whether the President was racist, said "No" (CBS News).

The next evening, at a re-election rally in Greenville, North Carolina, Trump returned to the attack on Omar, and the crowd chanted "Send her back!" (NBC News). As the chant grew, Trump paused and "did nothing apparent to discourage the crowd." The following day he said "I was not happy with it - I disagreed with it," and claimed he had tried to stop it by starting to speak again "very quickly" (Sydney Morning Herald). Al Jazeera reported that this claim was false, and that a day later he called the rally crowd "incredible people" and "incredible patriots." Omar said the President bore responsibility for "creating a volatile environment in this country through violent rhetoric that puts anyone … in danger." She had earlier reported an increase in death threats after Trump tweeted an edited video about her earlier in 2019 (Al Jazeera).

Rome Statute. No international crime is in play. The crime type is none.

Human rights law. Under ICERD Article 2(1)(a), the United States undertakes to engage in no act of racial discrimination. Under Article 4(c), it is not to permit public authorities to promote or incite racial discrimination. Telling citizens of colour to "go back" to countries of supposed origin is a classic expression of racial and national-origin exclusion, and the House of Representatives formally found the comments racist. The United States ratified ICERD with a reservation that ties Article 4 to constitutional free-speech protections, and no body with jurisdiction has applied the Convention to these statements.

Strongest defence argument. The President was criticising the politics of four outspoken opponents, not their race, and he disavowed the chant. Republican leaders said the tweets were not racist. The defence is weakened by the content of the tweets themselves: they attribute foreign origin to three women born in the United States, and the disavowal was followed within a day by praise for the crowd. It does succeed on harm. The sources reviewed document no concrete injury to the four members traceable to these statements, beyond the threats Omar had already reported earlier.

Why this grade

Significant. Rhetoric is not an act, and this entry records rhetoric: tweets and a rally speech, with no official action against the four members. The conduct is the head of state's public vilification of members of Congress on grounds of perceived foreign origin, formally condemned by the House as racist. The significant grade covers rhetoric of this kind where no rights violation causing concrete harm to identifiable people is shown. A future source documenting threats or violence traceable to the July 2019 statements would justify review for severe. No international crime is in play, so the entry carries no warCrimeClassification.

International law engaged

InstrumentProvisionWhat it protects or prohibits
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial DiscriminationArticle 2(1)(a) and Article 4(c)States parties undertake to engage in no act of racial discrimination and not to permit public authorities to promote or incite racial discrimination (the United States is a party, with a reservation tying Article 4 to constitutional free-speech protections)
International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsArticles 25 and 26Right to take part in public affairs; equal protection without discrimination

Sequence of events

  1. 'Go back' tweets

    Trump tweets that four progressive congresswomen of colour should 'go back' to the 'totally broken and crime infested places from which they came'.

  2. House condemns the tweets as racist

    The House adopts a resolution condemning 'President Donald Trump's racist comments' by 240 to 187. Republicans Will Hurd, Brian Fitzpatrick, Fred Upton and Susan Brooks vote in favour (CBS News).

  3. 'Send her back!' in Greenville

    At a re-election rally in Greenville, North Carolina, Trump resumes his attack on Omar and the crowd chants 'Send her back!' while he pauses (NBC News; Sydney Morning Herald).

  4. Trump disavows the chant, falsely claiming he tried to stop it

    Trump tells reporters he disagreed with the chant and that he had started speaking again 'very quickly'; footage showed him pausing while it continued (Sydney Morning Herald; Al Jazeera).

  5. Trump praises the crowd

    Trump calls the people at the rally 'incredible people' and 'incredible patriots'. Omar says the President bears responsibility for 'a volatile environment' that puts people in danger (Al Jazeera).

Sources

  1. House passes resolution formally denouncing Trump tweets as racist — CBS News
  2. Trump to congresswomen of colour: Leave the US — BBC News
  3. After House rejects 'stupid' impeachment, Trump fuels rally crowd chant of 'Send her back!' at Omar — NBC News
  4. Donald Trump disavows 'send her back' chant after it sparks backlash — The Sydney Morning Herald
  5. Trump renews attacks on Omar, praises 'send her back' crowd — Al Jazeera
  6. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: status, declarations and reservations — United Nations Treaty Collection
  7. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (text) — University of Minnesota Human Rights Library

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

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