The Conversation (0)
Greg Evans
Jul 18, 2019
President Donald Trump continued his attack on four congresswomen at a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, who he had previously told to 'go back to their home countries'.
Trump renewed his rhetoric against the quartet which includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, who is a US citizen but was born in Somalia and arrived in America as refugee aged 12.
Referring to the four women, Trump once again encouraged them to leave the country and branded them 'hate-filled extremists.'
Tonight I have a suggestion for the hate-filled extremists who are constantly trying to tear our country down.
They never have anything good to say. That’s why I say, 'Hey if you don’t like it, let ‘em leave, let ‘em leave.'
This line prompted his supporters to begin chanting 'Send her back! Send her back!', which was a clear reference to Omar's nationality.
The moment was possibly one of the most shocking incidents to occur at a Trump rally since his toxic 206 presidential campaign.
The chants and Trump's failure to prevent them have been widely condemned and criticised but a more positive movement has come out of the president's otherwise shameful rhetoric.
The hashtag #IStandWithIlhan has begun trending across the globe with thousands of people using it as a sign of solidarity against Trump's racial provoked attacks on Omar.
Everyone from politicians, celebrities, army vets, religious figures, journalists, commentators and members of the public are using the hashtag and here are some of the most notable.
Predictably, Trump supporters have tried to hijack the hashtag in an attempt to ridicule Omar, while others started using the hashtag #IStandWithPresTrump.
However, that hashtag was also hijacked by people spreading memes and jokes about Trump and his followers.
More: Ilhan Omar has been a US citizen longer than Melania Trump