Trump Puts Ilhan Omar In Danger By Leading Racist 'Send Her Back' Chant

Trump just allowed his own racist rhetoric to become even more terrifying

Since President Donald Trump went on a Twitter tirade saying four Democratic Congresswomen of color should “go back” to their own countries, the debate around his racist rhetoric has only intensified. In the latest, a crowd of supporters at a Trump rally in North Carolina chanted “send her back” directed at Rep. Ilhan Omar. Meanwhile, the president literally basked in openly racist calls to remove a citizen and duly elected lawmaker from the country. This is so scary.

Omar, to her credit, has handled this with more strength and grace than I will ever possess.

But as a woman who is black and Muslim, Omar is already someone who faces oppression and discrimination in the United States. Now that the president has painted a target on her back, she could be in real danger, and how anyone is still tolerating this absolutely horrifying political climate is just beyond me. Quick reminder, she’s also a mother to three children. Three children who are now in danger right alongside their mother. All because of a racist president and his racist followers.

Now, other elected officials and, you know, people who have hearts, are tweeting their support for Omar. You don’t have to care one lick for this woman’s politics to be able to recognize that calling for her removal from the country in which she is a citizen, just because she is black and Muslim, is one of the scariest things we’ve witnessed in the politics of our time. And it’s not just anyone who’s calling for that — it is the President of the United States.

Many of the current Democratic frontrunners for the 2020 nomination have been rushing to Omar’s defense, acting like a president should in a situation like this one.

Even a very small handful of other Republicans are condemning Trump’s words, at a time when the GOP is consistently cowed by the fact that racism does seem to advance their base, making them unwilling to stand against it.

Never mind the fact that telling someone at work to “go back to where you came from” is a textbook example of illegal workplace discrimination. Never mind the fact that our country is built on diversity and the strength of immigrants. Never mind the fact that as one of the strongest and most prosperous countries in the world, we should be opening our doors as wide as they go for people from nations where they’re forced to live in danger.

Never mind all that. As humans, with hearts and a capability for empathy, we should be disgusted by this behavior.

These chants are what you’d see from a playground bully — a child, not the president of the United States and his supporters. And this message is racist. There is no more denying that. Trump has singled out four women of color to be the targets for his vile message, and all four of them have been citizens of the U.S. either since their birth, or for more of their lives than Trump’s own (white) wife.

This is blatant racism from the highest office in our country, stoked by racism from his supporters. We can’t stand for it. When will enough finally be enough?