People were stunned this past July when President Donald Trump tweeted that four Congresswomen of color—Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)—should "go back" to where they came from.
He also falsely claimed they "originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe..."
Three of the Congresswomen were born in the United States. Omar was a refugee from Somalia. All are Americans.
....and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our… https://t.co/xPRSZHNNAd— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1563107272.0
At a campaign rally days later in North Carolina, President Donald Trump mentioned Congresswoman Omar—and got a strong reaction from the crowd.
While bigotry is common at a Trump rally, it became even more blatant when Trump's supporters began chanting "Send her back," echoing the calls from Trump's tweet for them to "go back" to where they came from.
Watch below.
Crowd chants "send her back!" at President Trump's combative North Carolina rally https://t.co/hmUF44X4SK https://t.co/uTOirDzXhR— TIME (@TIME) 1563420708.0
Trump attempted to distance himself from the hatred he sowed by claiming that he began speaking immediately after the chant started in order to quiet the supporters. This was false. Days later, he praised the people at the rally who gleefully called for her to be removed from the United States.
Six months later, Congresswoman Omar is trolling those who chanted against her.
How so? She's turned it into a slogan for her re-election campaign.
Send me back to Congress so I can keep fighting for the America we deserve — one where healthcare, stable housing,… https://t.co/TlnKiOtDPI— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1579830446.0
This is far from the Congresswoman's first response to the bigoted chants. Shortly after the rally, Omar tweeted an excerpt of Maya Angelou's poem Still I Rise. She later tweeted a picture of her with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) referencing the chant.
But turning the hatred into a slogan that will get donations to her reelection campaign? That was gold.
Honestly @IlhanMN using the "send her back" racist chants to frame her reelection campaign slogan is GAS— Kenna, Resident Superdork (@Kenna, Resident Superdork) 1579831359.0
@IlhanMN I would if I were in Minnesota. Rooting for you from Texas! Keep on being an icon. You've made our country proud!— NobodyInTX🌹🏳️🌈 (@NobodyInTX🌹🏳️🌈) 1579830602.0
@IlhanMN I am living for your campaign slogan/ hashtag 😍 #SendHerBacktoCongress— hi (@hi) 1579829058.0
@IlhanMN Send her back, and I cannot stress this enough, to Congress— Bryan Connolly (@Bryan Connolly) 1579838679.0
Ilhan Omar is sending out emails that say "Send her back ... to congress" and THAT is funny.— dana (@dana) 1579833882.0
I can honestly say that Ilhan, along w/ AOC, is the bravest most fierce progressive congresswoman fighting to bring… https://t.co/PLWp46iN0e— Marlo Stanfield to y'all, Meemus to my friends. (@Marlo Stanfield to y'all, Meemus to my friends.) 1579830640.0
But, sadly, the same bigotry that informed the hateful chant reared its ugly head again.
@IlhanMN “IF” @IlhanMN were “Truely” a “Progressive” she would have shred that “Hijab” a long time ago.— Amy (@Amy) 1579833330.0
@IlhanMN Hell nah bih we sending u back too AFRICA— Kyle (@Kyle) 1579885385.0
@IlhanMN “Send me back to Congress so I can keep fighting”. Don’t you mean keep fighting to turn this country into… https://t.co/BquzlEhKEU— Keith Scruggs (@Keith Scruggs) 1579859200.0
Fortunately, Omar is resilient. She's currently the most highly-rated Congressperson in the state of Minnesota, and won her election with 70 percent of the vote.
You can donate to her campaign here.