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Amid the racist dumpster fire that is the president’s Twitter feed, it’s easy to miss the more subtle forms of bigotry often lurking there.
Such is the case with his recent “go back to where you came from” tirade launched against four congresswomen of color: Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ayanna Pressley.
Yes, as I explained previously, it is transparently racist to tell a black woman to “go back to Africa,” as he was saying by definition to Omar, with his invitation for her to leave the U.S. and return whence she came.
But in addition, when he doubled down after being challenged, claiming these congresswomen “hate our country,” he was also performing racism. After all, to accuse them of hating “our country” implies it is not also theirs, at least not to the same extent. It suggests America is a white nation and that when people of color critique it, they do so as outsiders and only because of a fundamental hatred of the country itself.
They do not critique because they seek to improve it, and surely not because they have any legitimate grievances, but because they are bitter and above all, ungrateful.
