Washington, August 25 (RHC)-- U.S. Muslim congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has described President Donald Trump as “a white supremacist” with “a hate agenda,” further insisting that he is “afraid of women of color” following Trump’s recent derogatory attacks on her and fellow Muslim and African American lawmakers.
“It’s been very clear to me, especially this last week, that he’s scared of us,” said the Democratic lawmaker from the state of Michigan in an interview published Saturday by UK-based daily The Guardian. She referring to herself along with fellow African-American Congresswomen Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York and Ayanna Pressley of the state of Massachusetts, who have become known as “the Squad” for their persistent criticism of Trump’s unyielding anti-immigrant and often racist political rhetoric.
“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,” the native-Palestinian congresswoman further emphasized.
“He’s afraid because we have a real agenda for the American people,” Tlaib then explained, noting that many of the progressive ideas she and her congressional allies are pursuing -- such as strengthening civil rights, ending corporate control of government, eliminating student debt, Medicare for All, and taxing the rich -- are popular not just with Democrats but also with independent lawmakers and even some Republican representatives as well.
“He can bring it,” Tlaib added, “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.”
Tlaib further underlined that she was confident Trump’s time in office was limited, arguing that he does not seem to realize the Squad is much larger than the four minority lawmakers in Washington, She said it includes all the women in the freshman class who come from diverse backgrounds, have overcome challenges, and are up in front of Congress asking “Why?”
It’s that Squad and the American people who are standing up to Trump, she also emphasized, saying: “I really believe that when we work together, we can defeat this type of hate and the attacks on our families – not just racism, but systemic oppression.”
Tlaib’s remarks came shortly after Trump disrupted a planned visit to occupied Palestinian territories by her and fellow Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar by urging the Israeli regime to block the official tour. The U.S. president then taunted and repeatedly insulted the Michigan lawmaker, calling her obnoxious, violent and crazy.
Meanwhile, the powerful pro-Israel lobby in the US and some conservative Michigan Jews who do not even live in Tlaib’s district intend to interfere in her 2020 re-election campaign. They consider her as vulnerable because she represents a majority African-American district and narrowly defeated a Black candidate by only 900 votes in the 2018 primary. The pro-Israel lobby plans to support an African-American challenger to prevent Tlaib’s re-election.
