Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) declared that President Trump is “afraid of women of color” in an interview with the Guardian following the fallout from her decision to refrain from seeing her grandmother after Israel granted her permission to do so.
Tlaib spoke to the Guardian following the drama that unfolded this month after Israel initially barred her from entering the country due to her ongoing support of the BDS movement. The Minnesota lawmaker reportedly wrote a letter addressed to Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, begging to see her grandmother and promising to refrain from promoting boycotts against Israel during her trip.
“This could be my last opportunity to see her. I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit,” she wrote.
Deri granted her permission, but she refused to accept and told reporters at a news conference afterward that she cannot travel to Israel unless she is able to go as a “free American United States congresswoman.”
“She [Tlaib’s grandmother] said I’m her dream manifested, I’m her free bird, so why would I come back and be caged and bow down when my election rose her head up high [and] gave her dignity for the first time,” Tlaib stated through tears.
Trump responded to Tlaib’s presser, writing in part, “Sorry, I don’t buy Rep. Tlaib’s tears”:
“It’s been very clear to me, especially this last week, that he’s scared of us,” Tlaib told the Guardian.
“He’s afraid of women of color … because we’re not afraid of him and we’re not afraid to speak up and say that we have a white supremacist in the White House who has a hate agenda,” she continued.
“He’s afraid because we have a real agenda for the American people,” she added, although it remains unclear what, exactly, that agenda entails, given the “Squad” members’ propensity to veer from standard political issues, instead repeating talking points embraced by the “woke” social justice warriors of the far-left.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), for instance, was under fire over the summer for continually comparing migrant detention centers to “concentration camps.” While she has quieted down in recent weeks, she sparked another firestorm last week after lambasting the Electoral College and, as a consequence, rural voters.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), another prominent member of the so-called “Squad,” has been mired in controversy since her political inception, particularly for her history of antisemitic remarks. Her remarks ultimately prompted the House to pass a resolution condemning “hate speech,” although it did not specifically target Omar or her problematic comments.
Both Tlaib and Omar came under fire earlier this month for sharing an antisemitic cartoon created by a participant of Iran’s Holocaust denial contest.
As Breitbart News reported:
The cartoon Omar and Tlaib reportedly shared shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his hand over Tlaib’s mouth, and U.S. President Donald Trump with his hand over Omar’s mouth. Both leaders are shushing the congresswomen. A Star of David — the symbol of the Jewish faith — appears in the center of the image, implying that Jews are responsible for the act of silencing.
The fourth and perhaps lesser-known “Squad” member, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), is also no stranger to controversy. She came under fire for suggesting that black people, Muslims, and members of the LGBT community must all toe the progressive line.
“We don’t need black faces that don’t want to be a black voice. We don’t need Muslims that don’t want to be a Muslim voice. We don’t need queers that don’t want to be a queer voice,” she told the Netroots Nation conference last month.
“If you’re worried about being marginalized and stereotyped, please don’t even show up because we need you to represent that voice,” she added.
President Trump has made a point to demonstrate that the far-left members of the “Squad” are driving the narrative of the Democrat party– something that has made moderates, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), uncomfortable.
“He can bring it,” Tlaib said of Trump. “Because we actually have policies that came from the people.”
“What he’s doing by choosing us four as his target is trying to distract folks from the fact that more people are living in poverty than ever, because he has failed as a president,” she added.