This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
US President Donald Trump has sparked controversy with his latest attack on four Democratic congresswomen, calling on them to apologize to America for their 'horrible' comments.
Trump's comments, made in a Twitter post on Sunday, came as he faced charges of racism for his previous attacks on the congresswomen, who are all women of color.
Three of the lawmakers - Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan - were born in the United States. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota came as a refugee from Somalia and is a naturalized citizen.
The congresswomen, known as 'the squad,' have been highly critical of Trump and have also challenged their own Democratic leadership. Tlaib and Omar have been outspoken critics of Israel's government.
U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, denounced Trump's latest attack and said he had 'no doubt' that Trump was a racist.
'These are folks and women who love their country and they work very hard and they want to move us towards that more perfect union that our founding fathers talked about,' Cummings said on ABC's 'This Week.'
Trump has repeatedly tried to tag Democrats as backing policies that he and Republicans in Congress portray as 'socialist' and out of step with much of the country. At the same time, he has relied on racially divisive rhetoric as he girds for a tough re-election battle in November 2020.
