187 House Republicans refuse to condemn Trump's racist attacks

On Tuesday night, following House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s directive, an overwhelming majority of House Republicans voted against a resolution condemning Trump’s attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color.

However, a Democratic majority united behind the resolution, which passed by a 240-187 vote. Only four Republicans voted for it, along with Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent.

The resolution centered on Trump’s recent attacks on Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). On Sunday, Trump told the four women to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.”

Trump used the racist trope of telling people of color to “go back” to another country to falsely imply that some Americans, because of the color of their skin, are somehow less American than white citizens. Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, and Tlaib were all born in the United States.

Earlier on Tuesday, McCarthy announced that he would vote against a resolution condemning Trump’s racism and encouraged all House Republicans to stand by Trump and accept his racist attacks.

On the floor before the vote, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a powerful speech in favor of the resolution.

“I know racism when I see it. I know racism when I feel it. And at the highest level of government, there’s no room for racism,” Lewis said. “The world is watching. They are shocked and dismayed because it seems we have lost our way as a nation.”

While Democrats had no fear confronting Trump over his racist remarks, the vast majority of Republicans refused to do so.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.