World leaders slam Trump's racist attacks on congresswomen: 'Completely unacceptable'

Trump’s racist attacks on four congresswomen are forcing some of America’s closest allies to speak out against Trump’s behavior.

Prime Minister Theresa May thinks “the language used to refer to these women was completely unacceptable,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday. May is days away from finishing her term as prime minister, and one of the candidates vying to replace her also condemned Trump’s language.

“It is totally unacceptable in a modern multiracial country which you’re trying to lead,” Boris Johnson, the former U.K. foreign minister, said. Johnson’s comments could be especially stinging for Trump, who has previously praised Johnson and endorsed his bid to be prime minister.

On this side of the Atlantic, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also has harsh words for Trump’s unbecoming language.

“That is not how we do things in Canada,” Trudeau said at a Monday press conference. “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. The diversity of our country is actually one of our greatest strengths and a source of tremendous resilience and pride for Canadians and we will to continue to defend that.”

World leaders were responding to comments Trump made on Sunday, when he invoked racist tropes to attack four congresswomen: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Trump told these elected representatives, who are all women of color, to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.”

Whereas Trudeau views all Canadian citizens as equal, Trump’s language was an intentional effort to say these congresswomen, because of the color of their skin, are somehow less American than white citizens.

Three of the four congresswomen were born on American soil, while Omar is a refugee who fled Somalia as a child and eventually came to the U.S. seeking asylum. Trump did not attack foreign-born men who serve in Congress, such as Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) or Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), both of whom are white men.

At a Tuesday press event, Trump was asked about the support he was receiving from white nationalists after such a blatantly racist attack, and Trump defended his statements. “It doesn’t concern me, because many people agree with me,” Trump said in response.

While white nationalists may be rejoicing in Trump’s embrace of racism, leaders from America’s closest allies are emphatically against it.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.