Support for Trump Rises Among Republicans After Controversial Tweets
Republicans are standing by President Donald Trump following an uproar over his tweets against four House Democrats.
Trump tweeted Sunday that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” and has since doubled down on his tweets.
The president’s critics have since insisted the tweets are evidence he is racist. On Tuesday, the Democrat-controlled House even passed a resolution condemning the tweets as racist after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi labeled them as such on the House floor, Fox News reported.
Beyond the Beltway, Republicans view the episode much differently, Reuters reported.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Trump’s standing among Republicans jumped five percentage points over the past week to 72 percent.
In addition, a USA Today/Ipsos poll that showed overall disapproval of Trump’s tweets noted that 57 percent of Republicans agreed with Trump’s comments.
The poll found that a third of Republicans strongly agreed with Trump, USA Today reported.
Vincent Hutchings, a political science and African-American studies professor at the University of Michigan, said Trump’s supporters understand that the president’s core message was to either support America or get out of the way.
“To Republicans, Trump is simply saying: ‘Hey, if you don’t like America, you can leave,” Hutchings said.
“That is not at all controversial. If you already support Trump, then it’s very easy to interpret his comments that way.”
In criticizing high-profile progressive Democrats whose policies and comments are at odds with conservative Republican positions, Trump is “doing exactly what Republicans want him to do. He’s taking on groups that they oppose,” he said.
Some Republicans have roundly defended Trump, who on Wednesday tweeted comments from Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana.
“In America, if you hate our Country, you are free to leave. The simple fact of the matter is, the four Congresswomen think that America is wicked in its origins, they think that America is even more wicked now, that we are all racist and evil. They’re entitled to their…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2019
….they are destroying the Democrat Party. I’m appalled that so many of our Presidential candidates are falling all over themselves to try to agree with the four horsewomen of the apocalypse. I’m entitled to say that they’re Wack Jobs.” Louisiana Senator John Kennedy
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2019
Kennedy had appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Tuesday.
“I don’t think President Trump is a racist. I don’t think his original tweet was racist. I think it was a poor choice of words, which is why he clarified,” Kennedy said.
“I’m not sure the president should exchange playground insults with them. When you try to argue with a fool, that proves there are two. But the president decided to do so.”
“The simple fact of the matter is that the four congresswomen think that America was wicked in its origins. Now … they’re entitled to their opinion. They are Americans. But I’m entitled to my opinion,” Kennedy continued.
“I just think they are left-wing cranks, and they’re the reason there are directions on a shampoo bottle,” he said. “I think we should ignore them.”
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